Cold As Ice
by capshawfan1981
Summary: Finn Hudson is the richest man in New York city. He is known for his hardness and distance from people. That is until the day he runs into a woman in the park that has hurt her ankle. Rachel Berry gets placed in a cab by none other than Finn Hudson himself. Little do either of them know that Rachel is fixing to change Finn's entire life.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Ok Sheila… here ya go. I hope the way I write this matches up with your ideas. I wish you all the best and if there is EVER anything you need, let me know. Love ya kid!

So….. yet another Finchel Fic… I know, I know… but hey, the person asking me to write these is pretty special, so if I can bring a little joy to her by hitting some keys on a keyboard… I'm all in. This story is all my putting together, but her concept. So I hope I can do it justice. Enjoy!

Looking down from the 23rd story penthouse suite of his building, Finn watching the busy New York streets moving along busily like they did every day. It amazed him how nothing ever stopped. This city stayed alive literally 24 hours a day. He sipped his coffee, black just like he liked it, and walked over towards his answering machine. Hitting play he looked through his mail while listening to the messages fill the otherwise silent room.

Monday 2:23pm – Mr. Hudson, this is Jack from Ashton Reality. I was calling to let you know that the bid on the building down town was accepted. We are clear for renovation. Let me know when you want me to have the crew out there. Thanks.

Monday 5:17pm – Hey there Finn, it's Quinn. I just wanted to tell you that I had an amazing time the other night. Hope we can do it again soon. Take care. Call me.

Finn squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. He couldn't believe he had gotten drunk enough to give that girl his number. He had a strict rule when it came to women. No strings. NO attachment. He was very cut and dry, and his life revolved around work, exercise and one night stands. He never spent the night at their place and he never… EVER brought them to his house. The last thing he needed was a crazed woman knocking at his door when he did the inevitable and failed to call her the night after their hook up.

He listened to the last message and it made his whole body cringe.

Monday 8:56pm – Hi honey. I know you won't call me back, but I still wanted to leave this message like I do every Monday night and tell you that I love you. I miss you so much and I hope that you are doing well. I saw your photos in the magazine the other day… you looked so handsome. Anyway, I love you and I hope you know that. I think of you every single day Finn. Call me sometime, please?

He reached over, hitting the button on the machine to stop the messages. Hearing his mother's voice only made him feel pain and he preferred to feel nothing. He hadn't spoken to her in 2 years and he still couldn't face her. He thought about the night that his life changed and he felt sick every time. Finn and his step father, Burt, had been driving home from a Yankee's game. They were deep in conversation about how the game played out when a truck struck them out of nowhere, completely crushing the passenger side of Finn's Range Rover, killing his step father instantly. The man was charged with man slaughter over 3 months later and the day Finn walked out of the court room from hearing the judge's ruling was the last time he had stepped foot anywhere near his mom or any of his friends. He moved into the city and became closed off. He had dove deeper into his company, leaving no word with anyone about his whereabouts. Of course his mother, being the woman that she is, tracked him down and one night she came knocking on his door. Finn was shocked to see her considering they hadn't spoken in months. But the reunion she had been hoping for didn't happen. Instead Finn told her he never wanted to see her again, and closed the door on her and his past that night.

He walked towards his bedroom and changed into his running clothes. He stuck his earphones into his ears and went for his morning run. His hear pound inside of his chest as he breathed in the cold morning air, but he pushed on. He turned down the path that ran through the park, the music blaring in his ear. When he reached the point where he would always turn back around, he stopped running long enough to lift his leg onto a bench to retie his shoe. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye and turned his head. A small brunette woman sat on the ground, her ankle clutched in her hands and tears running down her face. He jerked his earphones out of his ear and ran over to her. He knelt down beside her and reached for her leg. She quickly pulled it away, flinching in pain.

"Are you ok?" He asked, his eyes scanning her clearly swollen ankle. "You're ankle is really swollen." He said.

He had yet to look at her, more concerned with her foot but slowly turned to look at her when she didn't answer. "Ma'am, I asked if—" His eyes locked with dark brown ones and he felt like he lost all ability to speak. He closed his eyes, shaking his head in an effort to clear it. "I asked if you are alright." He said once more.

Rachel felt like she had never been taught to speak. As if all her words were just gone. "I uh.. I'm uh.. I twisted it." She said, unable to stop staring at this insanely gorgeous man in front of her.

"Yeah, I can see that. It looks like it's either broken, or really, really sprained. We need to get you to a hospital." Finn said, looking around to see if there was anything to use to help her walk. When he didn't see anything he didn't hesitate, leaning down and scooping her up into his arms. She was so small and light that he felt as if he were carrying a bag of potatoes. "OH my God, you don't have to carry me. I can try to limp over to the taxi." Rachel said in protest, but Finn shook his head. "Nonsense. We need to get you a cab and get that looked at." He said, walking at a rapid pace.

Rachel's arms were draped around his neck and she couldn't help but stare at his chiseled jaw, the slight stubble he had from not shaving yet and his perfectly cut hair. His arms were very muscular and she could see the definition of his pecks through his sweaty shirt. She thought about how incredible he must look without it but her mind was brought back into the present when he stopped by the busy street, yelling across to a man standing next to a solid black town car. She was confused, expecting the usual yellow NY cab to pull up so when the car moved over to stop in front of them she spoke up. "Who's car is this?" She asked. "It's mine, and my driver is going to take you to the hospital and make sure you are checked in. I hope everything goes ok for you." He said, stepping away from the car he had just sat her inside of. "Your car? But… but who are—" The door was shut before she could finish asking who he was, or even for his name. She watched as he put his ear phones in and jogged off down the street.

The driver pulled out into the moving traffic and was silent. "Excuse me? Um, could you tell me the name of that man? The one that owns this car?" Rachel asked, hoping to get an answer. The man with the dark aviators looked into the rearview mirror and with a rock solid face said, "That is Mr. Hudson, ma'am. "

"Mr. Hudson…Mr. Hudson… wait… FINN HUDSON?" she asked in shock. Finn Hudson was only the richest bachelor in New York and had the biggest 'player' reputation in the state as well. "Yes ma'am. Finn Hudson." He said. "We are here. Let me go inside and get someone to bring you a wheelchair." The man said, leaving Rachel inside the car alone. "Why would Finn Hudson, Asshole Extraordinaire help me? I have read so many articles about him in the NY times and wall street journal and he has been rumored to be the "Coldest, Richest, Sexiest Class A asshole" of all time. Maybe she just caught him on a day when his blood was warmer than the usual freezing temperature.

The man came, wheeling her inside and she thanked the driver before he turned to head back towards Finn's direction. Rachel stared at the black car until it disappeared and she was wheeled into the emergency room.

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Finn pushed his door open, pulling his headphones off and tossing them along with his iPod onto the counter and pulled the refrigerator open. He grabbed a bottle of water and took a large gulp. His closed eyes shot open, just like they had during his run. Every time he closed them all he could see were her eyes. The way they looked at him as if they could see right through him. Shaking his head he ripped his shirt over his head, tossing it in the hamper and reaching in to start the water for the shower. He needed to forget about the brunette that had somehow forced her way into his thoughts. He stepped under the spray, his eyes closing and there she was again. "What the fuck is going on?" He said out loud to no one. He showered before walking into his overly large closet, flipping on the light and all the shelves and racks coming to life. Each shirt was hung and pressed to perfection. He reached up, pulling down a solid gray shirt and pulled a white t-shirt and boxers out of a nearby drawer. Slipping them on he chose the pants and suit jacket before finishing off with a tie. He looked at himself in the mirror while hooking his cufflinks and straightening his tie. Once he deemed himself presentable, he grabbed his wallet, cellphone and briefcase, leaving his apartment.

He just needed to get to work, and then any thoughts of that random girl would be gone. Although he couldn't help but wonder if she was ok after her accident. Oh well, it wasn't like he would ever see her again. New York was a huge town and the chances of running into the same random stranger again were pretty slim. He walked out of his building, nodding to the door man before sliding into the car that his driver had ready and waiting. "To the plaza, Max." Finn instructed, and the driver pulled out as ordered. Finn had his phone in hand, reading through some emails for work, but his mind kept pulling at him. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, before giving in and asking. "Did you get the woman to the hospital ok?" Max forced himself not to show any type of smile at his boss' question. He knew Finn was a good guy, even if he hid it well. Last year Max's daughter needed a surgery, and Max couldn't afford it. Suddenly the hospital received an anonymous donation and Max knew there was only one person with that kind of money lying around. He never thanked Finn though, knowing that if he wanted a thanks, he wouldn't have made the donation anonymously.

"Yes sir. She was being checked out when I left. Did you um, want me to get an update?" He tried, but Finn shook his head, looking back down at his phone. His sunglasses covered his eyes, but Max knew that Finn was trying to hide his concern. "No. No that's ok." The car came to a stop in front of Hudson Enterprises. Stepping out, Finn walked inside, avoiding conversation with anyone. People knew that when he was there, he preferred to be left alone. The only person that spoke to him on a regular basis was his secretary Blaine Anderson. When Finn walked into the top floor towards his office Blaine approached him, a cup of coffee in one hand and a stack of messages in the other. "Good morning Finn. How was your morning?" Blaine asked, falling into step next to the overly tall, 6'4 man. Finn ignored his question, only offering a shrug before tossing the message onto his desk and placing his briefcase next to it. "Did Daniel from Sayfried call back?" Finn asked, still not looking at Blaine. "Uh, yeah. He said to call him back to let him know which day would be good for the meeting." Blaine could tell something was on Finn's mind, and knew better than to push it. He made sure he wasn't needed further before stepping out of the office, shutting the door behind him.

Finn pushed back in his chair, spinning to look out the full length windows. He wondered if the brunette was ok, and it was a very unfamiliar feeling. He needed to get busy and keep his mind off of this. She was a stranger for God's sake, why was he worrying so much about it?

Hours went by as Finn worked on one project after another. He glanced over at the clock and saw that it was a little after 2:00 and he pressed a button on the phone, buzzing Blaine's desk.

"Yes sir?" Blaine answered quickly.

"Blaine. I need you to make a call. Call down to University Hospital and see what information you can find out about a woman that was dropped off with a sprained ankle. A name, or an address. I don't know how you can get that information out of them, but find a way."

Then the line went dead. Blaine stared at the phone for a moment, in shock. Who was this person that Finn was so interested in finding? He shook himself back into motion before picking up the phone and calling in every favor he had. He had no idea why Finn needed to know who this woman was, but he knew that if he didn't figure it out, his boss would have his ass. Finn Hudson was not used to being told 'no' and he damn sure didn't feel like making today the first time he was. After a few phone calls, Blaine had the information he wanted. 'Rachel Berry'. "Hmm, he thought. Who are you Rachel? And why does my boss need to know who you are so badly?" Blain said to himself. He walked towards Finn's office, walking in quietly as he saw that he was on the phone. His back was to the door and he stared out the window.

"I don't care what you need to do, you are going to make it happen. Do I make myself clear? Good. I'll hear back from you within the next 24 hours." Finn said before hanging up the phone. "What do you need Blaine? I'm in no mood for—" Finn stopped talking when he saw Blaine hold up a small piece of paper with a name on it. "I found the woman you were looking for. Her name is Rachel Berry.. there is her address and telephone number." He sat the paper down in front of Finn who sat there silent. Sure he wanted the information, but now that he had it what would he do? "Um" Finn cleared his throat, "Thank you Blaine. That will be all for today." Blaine walked out silently, knowing that whatever mental battle Finn was going through was something that he had to do on his own.

Finn opened his lap top, the 'Google' screen starting at him. His fingers typed as if they had a mind of their own as the words 'Rachel Berry' were entered and then hit enter. Nothing came up really, as she wasn't someone famous or been in the media. He saw one link that said, 'Rachel Berry to debut in her first Broadway performance of Funny Girl'. He clicked on it and quickly an article popped up, along with a few photos of Rachel singing. "So she's a singer?" He asked himself. He read the entire article before closing it. He didn't have a clue why he felt such a pull towards this woman, hell they hadn't said a dozen words to each other. But there was something…. Some type of spark that he felt inside of a heart he long ago thought had stopped beating.

He picked up the phone and made a phone call to his personal assistant before shutting off his computer and reaching for his suit jacket off the back of his chair. He had a meeting downtown and then he was finished for the day. He didn't know why but he felt strange, off his game, and he wanted to get home and try to relax before his head exploded.

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Rachel sat in her apartment, her foot elevated inside of a foot brace. She lay there, letting the events of the day play over in her mind. The man from the park who she had learned to be THE Finn Hudson consuming her every thought. She had heard of him, hell who hadn't… and she knew very well about his reputation. But even though she knew all those things, she couldn't help but feel like she could see something in his eyes. Pain? Fear? Loneliness maybe? She had never felt what she felt when she looked into this eyes with any other person in her life. She couldn't describe it, but it was as if something inside of her woke up. Something that she never knew had been sleeping. She shook the thoughts from her mind when she heard her phone ring. She picked up the annoying object and saw that it was her boyfriend, Jesse. Sliding her finger across the screen she put the phone against her head. "Hello?" There was a lot of noise in the background, sounding like traffic so she knew he was out of rehearsals. "Hey babe. How are you feeling? What did the doctor say about your foot?" Jesse asked, and she was surprised that he was even acting concerned. "They said I sprained it. They put me in a brace and said to stay off of it for the next 24 hours." She said. "Oh. What are you going to do about rehearsal? You know Cassandra won't let you miss without recasting your part. That's really unfortunate." He said, but she could hear in his voice that he wasn't that upset about this. "Well, it's not like I planned on this happening Jesse. I can't do anything about it. And besides, Cassandra was wanting to get me out of that part regardless. She was just looking for an opportunity. Well it looks like she has one." Rachel was growing very annoyed with the conversation every second it went on. "I'll let her know what is going on. I'll be by in a little bit. I have to go pick up my sheet music for tomorrow and probably meet your replacement since that's who I'll be working with. Talk to you later." He said and hung up. Rachel looked at her phone with disgust. "No, I don't need anything. Thank you though… NOT!" She said to herself. She had no idea why she was in a relationship with Jesse. She didn't feel anything towards him anymore but she just didn't want to be the bad guy and end things. So she waited and hoped that he would be the one to walk away. She tossed her phone on the couch next to her before reaching for the remote.

A knock at the door shocked her. She wasn't expecting anyone, but she assumed Jesse was stopping by, maybe to apologize for being such a jerk. She walked over, ripping the door open and preparing for what would most certainly be an argument. "Jesse, I don't—" She started but instead she froze when she saw a man standing there with a HUGE bouquet of flowers. "What the—" She said. "Excuse me miss, I have a delivery for Ms. Rachel Berry." He said. Rachel stood there, her mouth open unsure of what to say. She knew Jesse never sent flowers and he wouldn't do anything this thoughtful. "I'm uh, I'm Rachel Berry." She said, her weight shifting to move pressure from her foot. "These are for you ma'am. Could you sign here?" He asked, handing her a small clipboard and a receipt. He handed her the flowers and smiled before leaving. She shut the door, limping towards the table to set them down. They were beautiful and she had NEVER received flowers nearly this amazing. "Who would send these?" She thought to herself as she reached for the card. She opened the envelope and read.

-I hope that you are feeling better. I just wanted to send these to say sorry for not taking you to the hospital myself. Get well soon. Finn Hudson

Rachel couldn't blink. She read the card again several times, thinking to herself that this couldn't be real. How did he know where I live? How did he eve know my name? She was in shock and her phone rang several times before it even registered in her mind that it was going off. She walked over, seeing a number on the screen that she didn't recognize. She almost ignored it, but something in her gut made her answer.

"Hello?" She said softly into the phone.

"Rachel?" She heard the masculine voice ask.

"Yes? Who is this?" She asked, her stomach doing somersaults.

"It's Finn. Finn Hudson? I was the one who helped you to the—" He said, sounding almost nervous but Rachel interrupted him.

"I know who you are. How did you get my number?" She wondered out loud.

"I have connections with people. I was calling to see if you received the flowers I sent. My email said they were delivered." He asked, matter of factly.

"Uh, yeah. I did. They are um, beautiful. But how did you know… never mind… connections. I forgot." She said with a laugh, as if she knew her questions were ridiculous. Of course the most powerful man in all of New York could find out where she lived, or even her phone number for that matter.

"Well I won't keep you. I just wanted to make sure you got them, and wish you a fast recovery. Take care of yourself Rachel." He said and then he hung up.

Rachel couldn't breathe. Did that really happen? Was any of this real? She shook her head, trying to come back to reality.

On the other end, Finn sat in his apartment, his heart beating quickly in his chest. Hearing her voice made him feel this strange feeling inside and it was something he hadn't felt in longer than he could remember. He didn't know what it was about this girl, but a part of him needed to know.


	2. Chapter 2

Cold As Ice – Chapter 2

A/N: I haven't abandoned the other Finchel story, I will be updating that one asap. I just needed to get this chapter out before the ideas left my mind. Enjoy your weekend peeps!

"Mr. Hudson! Over here! To your right." A photographer yelled as Finn walked along the carpet, flashes from dozens of cameras snapping photos of him in his jet black suit. It was the opening night for one of New York's largest night clubs and Finn was on the VIP list as he was one of the new owners. A month ago he had signed his name on the dotted line, placing thousands of dollars on the line in order to start this club up. It was something he did simply because it was good business and good business meant good money. Finn Hudson was utterly and completely about making money, so here he was. Taking the usual stoned face photos for people as they yelled, "Anyone special in your life?" "Any women in your future?" and so on. Finn never answered questions about his personal life because he was a very private person, and mostly because there was no 'special someone' to talk of.

Over the past two months Finn thought of Rachel from time to time but he did like he did with everything else, pushed it to the back of his mind and focused on work and exercise. He walked past several people, one body guard in front of him and one behind him as he entered the club and was escorted upstairs straight towards the VIP section that looked out over the dance floor. He took a seat on the large black leather covered sofa. "What can I get you to drink tonight Hun?" A young blonde woman asked, with a pad in hand, chewing on the end of her pen. "I'll have a— Quinn?" He asked, recognizing the blonde from months prior when they hooked up. 'This won't end well' he thought to himself. "Finn? Well as I live and breathe. I thought you died, or something equally as horrible considering you never called me back after our night together." She said, her hand on her hip, obviously angry. "Well I uh, have been busy. With work." He said, only half lying. He left out the part about there being no chance that he would have called her back. "Well I guess I can forgive you. If you promise to call me so I can see you again." She said, making eyes to let him know she was insinuating another hook up. "Yeah, sure. Can you get me a gin and tonic. Make it a double. " He said, pulling his phone out and looking over an email from Blaine.

"Coming right up." Quinn said, shooting him a wink and heading downstairs towards the bar. A few minutes later she returned, handing him his drink and her number written on the napkin. He waited until she was out of sight before crumbling up the napkin and tossing it onto the table. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he looked down to see it was a text from his friend Noah Puckerman… Puck for short.

-These douchebags won't let me in. I told them I was your guest but they just laughed. What the fuck man? Call your dogs off and get me in this place.

Finn rolled his eyes. Puck and Finn's friendship was something that nobody understood. Hell, most of the time Finn didn't understand it himself. He was the one and only person that he stayed in touch with after turning his back on everyone from his past. He tried to do the same with Puck, but the guy showed up again and again, never giving up until finally Finn gave up on fighting him and he's been in the picture since then. After a few words to his body guard the man walked downstairs and reappeared with Puck behind him. "Hey hot stuff, grab me a beer and a shot of your best tequila would ya?" Puck asked a passing waitress before slapping her butt and plopping down in the chair next to Finn. "Sup Hudson? What's with the suit?" He asked, eyeing his friend up and down. "Don't you ever wear comfortable clothes? Do you even OWN a pair of jeans bro?" Puck laughed and Finn followed suit. "I had to take photos for the grand opening Puck. It's not like I can wear what you have on and be taken seriously. And for the record, yes. I own plenty of jeans." Finn said, taking a sip from his drink.

Quinn was the one to bring Pucks drinks and Finn didn't miss the way she and Puck made 'fuck me' eyes at each other the entire time. Quinn looked over at Finn every time she said something to Puck and internally he laughed at the thought that this woman thought she was making him jealous by talking to his friend.

"Man there is a shit load of hot ass in this place tonight. Have you seen one you want to give the Hudson Remedy to yet?" Puck asked as he and Finn stood at the rail, looking down at the dancefloor. The club was packed, and the music was pumping through the air while people danced and moved below them. "I'm here on business Puck. I can't exactly grab a girl and walk out holding hands." Finn said, scanning the room. He remembered a time when he would have been down there, living up life to it's fullest. But that time seemed so, so long ago. "Well more for me I guess. I'll be back. I am going to see if I can find that Quinn chick. I, unlike you, don't plan to handle my business on my own tonight. I'll see you in a few man." Puck said, slapping Finn on the back and charging down the stairs towards the dancefloor. Finn laughed as he watched his friend walk up to a group of girls and start dancing up on them. Finn started to turn back towards the couch but then he saw her. Rachel Berry. She was in the middle of the dancefloor, a guy with curly hair dancing against her as if they were having sex and another girl with dark black hair danced behind the guy. Finn couldn't take his eyes away from her. The way her body moved with the beat and the smile that was spread across her face as she moved. She was a natural dancer, and the way her body moved made Finn adjust himself in his dress pants.

Sometime during the song, the man walked away towards the bar as Rachel and the Latina continued to dance. Finn felt his mouth go dry when he got a good look at Rachel. She was wearing a white dress that was fitted beautifully against every curve of her toned body. The front of the dress had an extremely low cut neckline that showed the sides of her breast and stopped just above her stomach. When she turned her back towards him he could see her bare back and he thought for a moment about what it would be like to run his hand down her soft skin. Her hair hung down in long, loose curls and she had high lights put in it now. That was different from when he met her he thought. She was gorgeous. Drop dead gorgeous. Finn couldn't take his eyes off of her, no matter how hard he tried. But soon she and her female dance partner walked off of the dancefloor hand in hand towards the women's restroom. Finn turned around and waved his body guard over to him. He whispered something in his ear and the man nodded. He walked downstairs towards the bar and said something to the bartender.

Finn watched from above as Rachel and her friend walked towards the bar, and was obviously looking for someone who Finn assumed was the man from the dancefloor. She saw him dancing with another woman and rolled her eyes. Finn figured that this guy must be her boyfriend or her date and she looked annoyed with the fact that he was dancing with someone else. 'If she were mine I wouldn't dance with another woman no matter how hot they were' he thought to himself. Rachel and her friend spoke to the bartender and then she made a face in confusion as she tried to hand him money only to be waved away. He slid the drinks across the bar before pointing up towards Finn. Rachel turned, her eyes searching for the person that the bartender had just informed her had paid for whatever drinks she wanted the remainder of the night. She looked up and that's when she saw him. Finn Hudson.

"Oh my God. It's him." Rachel said and her friend Santana looked up, confused. "Who?" She asked. "Remember the guy I told you about from the park? When I hurt my ankle a couple months ago? He sent me that huge bouquet of flowers?" Santana nodded. "How could I forget? You didn't shut up about this hot… Hot Damn! He's fine as hell" Santana said as she finally saw exactly who Rachel was referring to. "That boy sent you flowers and now has given you free reign of the bar and you're not up there jumping his bones? Girl make a move, or don't mind if I do." Santana said, and Rachel knew she wasn't kidding in the slightest. "Please Santana. You're being ridiculous. I have a boyfriend. And that man? That man up there is nothing but a rich, player of a man who has never heard the word no in his life." Rachel said, rolling her eyes and pretending to not be interested. "If you say so Berry. But I can easily say that he has quite the affect on you. Your face is all flushed and you look like you might have a big "O" right here and now." Santana laughed and Rachel choked on her drink. "Like I said before, I have a boyfriend and you are completely wrong. I am not the least bit interested in him." Rachel said, looking away to avoid her friends prying eyes. "Oh yeah, how can I forget about your "boyfriend" over there. He looks like he's really concerned about his girlfriend right now. He's basically fucking that girl with his clothes on over there." Rachel turned and saw Jesse pressed up against some woman that looked to be old enough to call him her son and she felt her body tense. She sat her drink on the bar and started to push her way through the crowd of people towards he boyfriend. Finn watched this play out in front of him and when he saw Rachel, clearly upset, his jaw clenched.

"Jesse!" Rachel yelled over the music, but her scream went unheard. She stepped closer, tapping him on the shoulder and his head spun around and his eyes wide. "Rachel. Hey. I was looking for you." He lied. "Oh really? Did you think you would find me inside of her vagina? Because you're awfully far up in there." She yelled and the girl that had been dancing with Jesse's mouth flew open, looking offended. "Hey!" She yelled at Rachel. "Don't start with me. You're the one out here dry humping my boyfriend, so don't say a word. This is between he and I." Rachel said, her finger pointing directly towards the girls face. Finn's grip on the rail tightened. It was clear that Rachel was furious at her boyfriend and he couldn't stand it. "Rachel. You're over reacting. We were just dancing. Get over it." Jesse said, and then turned his back to her and his hands found the girls hips and they continued dancing. Rachel reached for his arm and Jesse pulled away hard, causing Rachel to stumble back in her heels and just when she began to fall she felt two strong arms catch her. "I've got you." The voice said and Rachel felt her body spread out with chills. That voice belonged to one person she would never forget. She looked up, and softly said, "Finn."

Finn made sure she was balanced on both feet before asking, "Are you ok?" Rachel brushed her hair away from her face, nodding 'yes' while looking down at her feet, avoiding Finn's eyes. "Good." Finn said, then stepped around her towards Jesse. Once again, Jesse felt someone tap him on the shoulder and spun around angrily, expecting to see Rachel again. But when he turned his eyes looked straight into a mans chest. His eyes followed the tie on the man's shirt and continued to follow up until he saw Finn's face. Finns ANGRY face. His jaw was clenched and he was biting the inside of his cheek, both fists bawled up tight. "Who the hell are you?" Jesse asked with attitude. Finn stepped forward, close enough that Jesse could hear him clearly without raising his voice over the music. "You" he pointed towards Jesse, "Owe her" he pointed towards Rachel, "An apology. And I suggest you make it a sincere one or else." Finn finished. Jesse laughed, starting to turn away. "I said you owe her an apology. And if you don't give her one, you will deal with me." Finn said, this time his voice louder. "Finn, it's fine. He doesn't—" Rachel tried, reaching for Finn's arm and he simply looked at her before looking at her hand on his arm. She pulled away, feeling as if her hands were burned. Finn faced Jesse once more. "Did you not hear me? Or did I use words that were too big for you to understand." He said though clenched teeth.

"Look man. You need to mind—" Jesse said, facing Finn head on, but stopped talking suddenly when he saw not one, but two men who were obviously body guards on each side of Finn now. "Fine. Fine." He said, holding up his hands in surrender. He walked towards Rachel and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shove you. You were just in the way and you know how I can get. I hope you know I never meant to hurt you." Jesse said, giving his best apologetic performance but Finn didn't buy it. He saw the Rachel looked at him, as if she had heard this same speech a million times. "Let's go home. I'll make it up to you." Jesse said, placing his hands on Rachel's arms, but she pulled away. "I'm not ready to leave Jesse. And I think I'm going to have Santana drive me home. I really just want to be alone." She said and Jesse didn't take that well. "What do you mean? You were supposed to come to my place tonight, remember? No, I'll take you home and we can keep our original plans." He said but Rachel stepped away from him, shaking her head 'no'. When Jesse reached for her again, Finn put his hand on Jesse's shoulder, turning him around. "She said no. Now I suggest you leave before I have you removed."

"Who the fuck do you think you are exactly?" Jesse asked, more than annoyed with this really tall dude who acted like he owned the place. "I own this club. And like I said, you can leave on your own, or I can have to taken out. The choice is yours." Finn said, crossing his arms over his chest, waiting for his answer. Jesse turned to look at Rachel, who avoided his gaze before saying, "I'm out of here. This place sucked anyway." And then he pushed through the crowd, jerking the door open and disappearing outside.

Finn watched until he was gone and then looked back towards Rachel, who was now joined by her friend. "So are you going to introduce me Berry? Or do I have to do it myself?" Santana said, winking at Finn who just stayed with a still face. "Santana.. yeah, uh, this is Finn Hudson. Finn, this is my best friend and roommate Santana." Finn reached out, shaking Santana's hand but didn't smile. "Does your face not have any other expression other than that one? You know smiling is a good look for some people. You should try it sometime." Santana said and Rachel bumped her hip against her friends in an effort to shut her up.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Finn said, but his eyes went right back to Rachel. Santana watched as the two stared at one another and in an effort to get out of this incredibly awkward stare down she spoke up, "Hey, do you think you could grab a cab home? I just met this insanely hot guy with a Mohawk and we are going to go back to his place. You'll be ok?" Santana said and Finn laughed to himself, knowing exactly who the Mohawk belonged to. He spoke up before Rachel could answer. "I'll make sure she gets home safely." He said and Rachel just looked at him. Santana once again looked between the pair. "Well ok then. Have fun staring at each other for the rest of the night. I'm going to walk away before I feel even more uncomfortable than I already do. If that's even possible. See you at home Rach. Don't wait up." Santana said walking away.

Rachel fidgeted with the bracelet on her wrist, unsure of what to say now that the two of them were alone. Finn moved closer and Rachel felt as if the temperature in the club was raised drastically. "Do you want another drink?" Finn asked, but Rachel shook her head. "I'm ready to go actually." She said and Finn felt a pang of disappointment in his stomach. He wasn't sure why he cared that she wanted to leave, but he did. "Ok. Sure. Right this way. My car is out front. We will take you wherever you need to go." He said. "You really don't have to do that. I can grab a cab. It's fine." She said, but he shook his head. "It's no trouble. This way." He said, his hand finding the small of her back and she closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath at the feel of his hand on her.

When they stepped out, photographers jumped out snapping photos of the two as they walked towards Finn's car. The driver holding the door open as Rachel slid in first, followed by Finn. "I uh, live on Market and 7th." She said once the driver was inside. "Yes ma'am." The man said and Rachel smiled, remembering him from the day at the hospital. "Thank you for taking me to the hospital. I didn't get to thank you before." Rachel said. "It was my pleasure ma'am. Mr. Hudson? Do you need to make any stops before heading towards Ms. Berry's residence?" The driver asked.

"No, I think we are fine. Head that way." Finn said, unbuttoning his suit jacket. The rode in silence for a moment and Rachel spoke first. "Thank you for the ride. And for the flowers. They really were beautiful. My apartment smelled amazing for days." She said and Finn offered a tight, almost smile, and nodded. "You're welcome Ms. Berry." He said politely. "That's me right there on the right." Rachel said as the man pulled up in front of a small, modest apartment building.

She sat there awkwardly, her hand moving up and down her thigh. "Well thank you for the ride. Um, have a good night." Rachel said, but Finn didn't answer. Instead he opened the door and walked around to her side. Waving at his driver to let him know that he had this covered. Rachel stepped out, her eyes looking into his for just a brief moment before looking away. Finn walked in silence with Rachel up the steps towards the main door of the complex.

"I know I've said this several times, but thanks again for the ride… for everything. I really—" Rachel was interrupted by Finn. "What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?" He asked, his hands shoved in both pockets as he looked at her with this intenseness that gave Rachel goosebumps. "I'm uh, I'm supposed to go to a movie with Santana. Why?" She asked. "I have somewhere I want to take you. Say, 2:00pm?" Finn said, practically telling her instead of asking. Rachel felt intimidated, but still intrigued. "ok" she said simply. "Great, I'll have my car sent for you. Have a good night Ms. Berry." He said as he stared at her with this intense look. "Rachel. Call me Rachel." She said, shying away from his glare. "Ok, Rachel. I'll see you tomorrow." He said, going down the stairs backwards, his eyes still locked on her. "See you tomorrow Finn." She said before walking inside the building. The door shut behind her and her back fell against it as she let out a deep breath. "Holy shit." She said. She had no idea what was going on right now, but something inside of her had to know why this man insisted on seeing her.


	3. Chapter 3

Cold As Ice – Chapter 3

Rachel hit ignore on her phone for the 4th time that morning, ignoring yet another call from Jesse. The night before he had shown up at her apartment only long enough to yell at her for making a fool of him at the club. He refused to see that the blatant disrespect came from his part and his part alone. She had heard enough of how embarrassed he was being thrown out of the club and asked him to leave which he angrily did. He had sent her several rude text messages and even told her they were over. Which is why he had left 3 voicemails and making his 4th phone call of the day, begging her to forgive hi just like she had so many times before.

"Good morning sunshine. How was your night with Mr. Big Bucks?" Santana said, appearing from her room, wearing a man's t-shirt that swallowed her. "Did he make love to you on a bed covered in 100 dollar bills like on that one move with Demi Moore?" She played, pulling the refrigerator open and grabbing the orange juice. Rachel sat at the island, her eyes on her laptop screen avoiding the look her roommate was giving her. She noticed Santana pull down two glasses from the cabinet and poured the juice. "Do you have company Santana?" Rachel asked with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, we tried to go back to his place last night but his roommate was there with a bunch of other guys playing some stupid game on the Xbox, so we came back here." Rachel laughed, she knew very well that Santana had company the night before because she had to turn her iPod up almost full blast to drown out the sounds of the two of them. "Yeah, I figured you weren't praying in the other room, and assumed you had a visitor. I just didn't know you let him stay. You usually have strict rules about sleepovers." Rachel joked.

"Yeah, well I was too drunk to care last night." Santana said, trying her best to blow off the fact that she might actually like the Mohawk man. "And now you're pouring him juice. He must be special." Rachel pressed. "Oh shut it Berry." Rachel laughed as her friend disappeared back into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

She walked into her bedroom and began to strip for her shower when her phone buzzed again. "Ugh, I wish he would get the hint that I just do not want to talk to him." She said to herself, assuming the message was from Jesse again. But picking up her phone she saw that number she had seen only once before. She clicked on the text and read it.

-Good morning, Rachel. I just wanted to touch base and confirm our plans for 2:00pm. I have a meeting, but my driver knows where to take you and I will meet you there.

She blew air from her cheeks, her bangs blowing in the breeze. She had no clue why she agreed to go through with this, considering the fact that this guy was about as warm as a reptile but still she couldn't help but wonder what he was like when nobody else was around. Wondered if there was another side to the ever cold Finn Hudson. She typed a reply.

-I will be ready. Can you tell me where it is that you are taking me?

She waited and quickly she received his response.

-It's a surprise. Just be ready.

Rachel shook her head. This guy was arrogant but yet she couldn't seem to fight it.

-Well I need to know where I am going, so I know how to dress. So the information is important and relevant.

-Dress comfortably. See you soon. Finn

She set her phone on the dresser and walked towards her bed, falling backwards onto it. She pulled a pillow over her head and screamed her frustrations into it as to not alarm her roommate whom she was certain was occupied.

Once she showered she put on a pair of blue jean shorts and a low cut V-neck t-shirt. She put on a light coat of make up and some earrings before giving herself a once over in the mirror. She reached for a small pair slip on's from her closet and walked into her living room. She jumped slightly at the sight of the man with the Mohawk sitting on their couch, Santana's feet in his lap, a blanket draped over them while they watched a movie. This was certainly new. Santana never kept any of her one night stands around. Once they pulled their pants up she was swiftly escorting them out of the apartment, never to be seen again. So her thoughts of Santana liking this man were instantly confirmed.

"Hey guys. What are ya'll watching?" Rachel asked, a smirk on her face as she looked at Santana and took a seat in the recliner across from them. "I'm Rachel by the way. And you are?" She asked, standing to shake the man's hand. "Oh hey. Santana told me about you. I'm Puck." He shook Rachel's hand and she didn't miss how Santana covered her face with the blanket. "Puck? That's an interesting name. Is it short for something?" She asked. "Well my name is Noah and Puckerman is my last name. But since I was a kid everyone just calls me Puck. I prefer it actually." He said, turning his head back towards the television and shoving a scoop of ice cream into his mouth.

"So where are we headed today? You and Jesse kiss and make up?" Santana asked as she noticed her friend was dressed and obviously leaving. "No! Jesse and I are over. I am so sick of his repeated drama. I, uh. I have plans… with a.. friend." Rachel stuttered through her answer and Santana smiled with a raised eyebrow. "Oh and would this 'friend' happen to be like 6'3, disgustingly handsome and as rich as they come?" Santana pushed, and Puck turned to hear what they were talking about. "I don't know what you are talking about." Rachel said, turning her head to pretend to be interested in the movie. "Sure ya don't. Is Sir Hudson picking you up or is a helicopter going to touch down on our roof to wisk you away to Paris for a night." Puck busted out, "You know Finn? Finn Hudson?" Both Santana and Rachel both looked at him confused. How on earth did he know who they were referring to? They didn't mention his name. Rachel thought. "How do YOU know who we are talking about?" Santana asked her boy toy. "Finn's my boy. We have been best friends since the 3rd grade. That's who I was with at the club last night before I met you." He said, his face looking as though he were being totally honest. Santana just laughed as if he were being completely ridiculous. "Yeah right. You expect me to believe that YOU are best friends with the richest guy in this city? That's hilarious."

Puck scrunched up his face. "You don't believe me. Look." He said, fishing his phone from his pocked and pressing a few buttons before handing it over to Santana. The screen was covered with a photo of him and Finn, wearing McKinnely high letterman jackets and a football in their hands. Then he slid it to another photo of the two of them sitting at some bar, Finn's arm around Puck's neck and a smile on his face. "Oh my God. He DOES know how to smile. I'm shocked. And even more so because you are really his friend. Amazing." Santana said, handing the phone to Rachel so she could see this stunning news for herself.

Rachel looked at the photo and smiled. This Finn seemed to be a completely different person. The smile on his face made him appear to be genuinely happy. His eyes sparkled in a way that said he had to have something happen to take it away. Her mental conversation was interrupted when Puck asked, "So how do you and Finn know each other? He's usually really private and I never see him hang out with anyone. Well besides me and his runts that work for him." Rachel didn't know what to say. I mean it wasn't as if she and Finn were really 'friends' but yet something in her felt like they were more than just acquaintances. "He helped me one day in the park. I fell and twisted my ankle so he had his driver take me to the hospital. I hadn't seen him since, until last night at the club." Rachel explained. "Oh yeah. I heard about that day. I heard you were in some serious pain." Puck said and Rachel's heart fluttered. Finn had mentioned her to his friend. That had to mean something, right?

"Well Rachel, you must be something special because my boy never takes a girl anywhere. He usually sticks to the night time visits, if you know what I mean." Puck said with a wink and Rachel felt herself want to throw up. There it was. The confirmation that he was the player she had heard from everyone. She almost text him and told him to forget about today, but before she had the chance there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Rachel said, jumping up and walking over to open it. "Good afternoon Ms. Berry. Are we ready to go?" The driver asked and Rachel looked back at her friend who waved her on. "Go. Have fun. And tonight you are going to fill me in on EVERYTHING." Santana said. Rachel turned back to the man and nodded, "Yes. I'm ready." She said and then she left.

The man drove and Rachel was silent the entire time. She had no idea where she was going and each time the car stopped at a light she had to convince herself not to jump out and run back home. For some reason she couldn't make her body move. It was as if she were being pulled towards Finn by this imaginary magnet. The car stopped in front of a really large building and the man opened her door. "We have arrived at your destination, Ms. Berry. Mr. Hudson is waiting for you upstairs." The man said, guiding her towards the door. They stepped inside what was obviously a vacant building and pressed a button on the elevator. Rachel watched as the numbers lit up on each passing floor until it stopped on the rooftop level "What in the world?" She said to herself as the doors opened. She stepped outside and looked around and that's when she saw him standing there. He stood next to a helicopter and she silently cursed Santana. 'How the hell did she know..' but she knew that it had to just been total luck of a guess. Rachel had to force herself to close her mouth when she saw Finn. He wasn't dressed in his usual suit and tie like he had been every other time. No, this time he was wearing a pair of blue jeans that seemed to hug him in all the right places and a deep blue shirt. His hair wasn't combed to perfection either as it stuck out in random directions. He had a pair of dark sunglasses on and she could still feel his eyes on her.

"Hello Rachel." Finn said as she came closer to him. "Finn. What is all this?" She asked, gesturing towards the helicopter. Finn stepped to the side, opening the door to let Rachel pass by. "Climb in." He said and even though her heart was racing, never having been inside one before she did as he said and got in. He walked around the other side and got in, buckling his seat belt. She did the same and tried to calm her nerves the best she could. "Relax. I know what I'm doing." He said and she had no other choice but to take his word for it. "Where are we going?" She asked.

"Patience, Rachel. Patience." He said placing a headset on top of her head before doing this same with his own. The helicopter began to lift off and she gripped onto the door so hard her knuckles turned white. Finn smiled without Rachel seeing him and steered the aircraft towards their destination. They flew for over an hour and Rachel swore she had never seen anything more beautiful that the things she was seeing right now. She looked over at Finn, who concentrated on flying and bit on his bottom lip in the sexiest way Rachel could imagine before he said, "We're here." She looked down and all she could see was water for miles. The small helipad was next to a large house, complete with a tennis court and swimming pool. "Who's house is this?" She asked as Finn unbuckled and she did as well. "It's my house. Come on." He said and she swallowed a lump in her throat.

Once they climbed out Finn reached out and Rachel looked at his hand before accepting it. He pulled her down a long, stoned path towards the house and reached into his pocket, producing the keys. Opening the door he allowed Rachel to pass by and she looked up at the beautiful skylight. "Wow. This place is beautiful." She said. "Why do you spend all your time in New York when you could be here?" Finn nodded and said, "Well I have to work there, so I kind of have to be there. But I get away and come here as often as I can. Lunch is ready on the patio, follow me." He said, leading the way through the large house and out the back. The deck was stunning, green plants filling the entire border and the smell of the ocean invading your senses. Rachel could hear the waves crashing in the distance and she couldn't believe how relaxing this place was. It was as if it were all a fairytale.

She looked towards Finn and saw he was saying something to a woman who looked to be his maid before walked over to join him. He pulled the chair out for Rachel to sit before pushing her towards the table. "I hope you like snow crab. It's a personal favorite of mine and Gloria is an amazing cook. Wine?" He asked, lifting the bottle to offer some to Rachel. "Yes, please." She said and he poured her some before himself.

The woman who Rachel had learned to be Gloria reappeared with two plates, setting one in front of Rachel and then Finn. "Everything ok Senior Hudson?" She asked. "Everything is amazing Gloria, thank you. That will be all for today." He said and Gloria nodded before walking into the house to leave. "This is incredible Finn." Rachel said, taking a bite of her food and moaning at the way it melted in her mouth. Finn had to clear his throat when he heard the moan fall from her lips. His body was reacting to Rachel and it was something he couldn't control. And not having complete control of something was new to Finn. And he wasn't quite sure how to handle it.

They made conversation over lunch, Rachel asking him about his business and Finn asking her about Broadway. She proceeded to tell him about how she was cut from her first big role after her accident and was struggling at the moment to get on her feet. She had been working a diner for the time being to make ends meet. She didn't know why she could talk to him so easily, but it was as if her mouth moved on its own accord when she was around Finn.

"Well, I have been looking for an assistant for quite some time. You should come by the office next week. We can set up a meeting." He said and Rachel choked on her wine. "You want me to come work for you?" She asked, shock evident on her face. "Well, let's do the interview first and go from there." He said and Rachel saw it. The smallest of smiles across his face. "So, Finn. Tell me about yourself. Where are you from? Any family?" She asked and that small smile she had seen only seconds ago instantly disappeared.

"I'd rather hear about you." He said and she got the hint that family or personal questions regarding Finn Hudson were off the table.

Rachel told him about her two dads, and how she graduated the top of her class at NYADA last year. She brushed against the Jesse subject and Finn didn't miss the part about them breaking up. The conversation flowed so easily between them and after they finished eating Finn stood. "Want to take a walk with me on the beach?" He asked. "Sure." She said softly.

Once again, Finn reached his hand out for Rachel's and she could feel her heart race. Something about the way it felt to have her hand inside of his made her feel alive, protected… special. They didn't say much as they walked, simply enjoying the way the sun set over the water. They had stopped walking after a while and just watched the way the water turned white as it curled over. "It's beautiful here." She said and Finn agreed. "It is. It's one of my most favorite places to be." He turned towards her, their eyes locking. "I'm glad you came today." He said, stepping closer to her. "Me too." Was all she could force out, her body being pulled towards him as if she had no control.

"Finn…" She whispered, but she was silenced by his lips crashing into hers. She felt as if her mind was swimming. Sparks and heat shooting across her body as she felt him pull her closer into his body. His hands tangled in her hair as she placed both hands on his cheeks. Their kiss grew deeper and hungrier by the second. Rachel's hands moved onto his chest as she slowly pushed him away in need of breath. "Wow." She said, unable to find another word to describe what had just happened.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make—" Finn said, feeling as if he had done something wrong. This was all new to him. The feeling s he was feeling right now were foreign. "No. Don't be sorry. I mean, I'm not sorry." Rachel said, and she was surprised herself that she actually meant it.

"We should get back. It's getting late and I still need to take you home." Finn said, and Rachel didn't miss how he had quickly made himself distant again. "Ok." She said as she let him take her hand and lead her back towards the house

The flight home was silent, much like the one to his house. And the car ride proved the same. Finn drove her home in his Range Rover, which was different from all the other times that they were escorted in his town car. "I had a great time today. Thank you." Rachel said, reaching for the door handle but Finn put his hand on her wrist, causing her to freeze. "I want to see you again." He said simply. Rachel looked at him, his eyes reeling her in. "Ok." Finn smiled, and this time there was no mistaking it, his eyes sparkled when he looked at her. "I will call you tomorrow. Have a good night." He said, leaning towards her and she felt her body do the same. Their lips met for a brief second and Rachel closed her eyes. His scent… his kiss.. it was all intoxicating. She felt her head spin for a moment after they broke apart. "See you tomorrow." She said before opening the door and walking towards her building. She watched him drive away and she let her head fall back, smiling wider than she had ever smiled before.

She turned to walk inside her apartment but stopped abruptly when she saw who was standing right in front of her. "Have a nice time tonight with your new boyfriend?" Jesse said, clearly enraged.

"Jesse? What are you doing here?" Rachel asked, not in the mood for this. "Well I came to apologize again and to beg you to forgive me. But seeing as you just got home from a date with Mr. Moneybags I am sure that I don't stand a chance now, do I?"

"Jesse. Our break up has nothing to do with Finn. That was totally on you and you know it. Now please just leave. I am in no mood for this." She passed by him and he pulled her to a stop by her arm. "You think you stand a chance with a guy like that? With someone who you will never be good enough for? Well I have news for you princess… you don't. You're only his choice for the week and then he will be on to the next one. But don't expect me to be here to pick up the pieces when he drops you and your heart like a piece of trash. I'm done with you." Jesse shoved her arm away and walked down the cement stairs and disappeared.

Was he right? Was she just dreaming that she would be someone Finn could truly be interest in? Was she only setting herself up for heart break?


	4. Chapter 4

Cold As Ice – Chapter 4

Rachel spent two days following her date or whatever you can call it with Finn in her bedroom. She didn't answer the countless phone calls or text messages he had sent either. All she could think about were the words Jesse had said. How she could never be good enough for a guy like Finn Hudson and the more she thought about it, the more she knew her ex was right. She had nothing to offer a guy like Finn. She was a struggling Broadway actress with a crappy minimum wage job that hardly made ends meet. Hell, she had just gotten a disconnect notice in the mail from her cell phone company and hadn't the slightest idea how she was going to pay it.

"Rachel?" Santana said, knocking on her bedroom door and pushing it open. "Awe Rach. You can't keep doing this. It's not healthy and no guy is worth doing this to yourself over." Santana said, walking over and climbing into bed next to a still pajama clad Rachel. "Leave me alone San. I just want to sleep for the rest of my life." Santana rolled her eyes and pulled the blanket away from Rachel's face. "Look Rachel. I don't know what happened on your date, but whatever it was it couldn't have been that bad. So why don't you just tell me so we can eat a gallon of the stupid froyo that you insist on buying and watch one of your sappy love stories and cry it out. It worked all the times Jesse screwed with your emotions, why wouldn't it work this time? It's 8 o'clock at night and you're still in your pajamas that you put on two nights ago. Anything it worth a shot at this point."

Rachel looked up at her friend and the tears burned her eyes. Santana had never seen Rachel this upset and suddenly she felt really bad for her. "Oh Rachel." She said, pulling her into her arms and letting her friend cry. "Just tell me what he did that upset you so bad so I can go over there and cut his balls off." Rachel shook her head before forcing herself to talk. "He took me to his house… and..and he made this romantic dinner before we walked on the beach. Then he… he.. he kissed me and it was probably the most romantic kiss I have ever had. I felt it down to my toes. It was perfect and something right out of a movie." She cried. Santana nodded along with her, waiting for the part that made Rachel turn into this blubbering mess. "Ok? And then what happened?" She pressed on. "Then he drove me home and when we parked outside, I started to get out of the car but he stopped me. And then he kissed me. Telling me he wanted to see me again. I told him ok and then I came inside." Rachel said, skipping over the part about Jesse all together.

"Wait. You're in here crying like your life is over because you had probably the most romantic dates I have ever heard of in my life? You're crying like this because this incredibly hot and obviously romantic guy took you out and wants to do it again? Girl you and I have two totally different definitions of a bad date." Santana said, blown away by this whole thing. Rachel sat up, wiping the tears away violently with the back of her hands. "No. I'm crying because I know that it's all too good to be true. Jesse was right. I won't ever be—" "Hold the hell on. What the hell did that little hobbit tell you Rachel? And when did he tell you this?" Santana said, her blood already boiling and thinking of all the ways she could injure him without the cops knowing she had done anything. "He was there… outside of our apartment when Finn dropped me off. He must have seen Finn kiss me because when I walked up and saw him he was furious. He said that I was fooling myself if I thought for even a second that Finn would be interested in someone like me for more than a hook up. And he's right San. I'm not good enough for someone like Finn Hudson. I'm just… I'm just me. A regular nobody with a regular nobody life." Rachel put her face in her hands, the tears falling full force once again. "First of all, Jesse St. James is a total piece of shit. He doesn't know what a real relationship is and he probably never will. He can't see past himself long enough to even notice someone else. He is the last person that would know what you deserve. Rachel, I don't know this Finn guy, but from what I have seen he is interested. If he weren't, he surely wouldn't be sending flowers every day and calling your phone the dozens of times that he has called. Not to mention Puck was here earlier and told me that Finn is pretty much going crazy wondering what he did wrong." Rachel lifted her head and sniffed away her tears. "He said that? That he is going crazy?" Rachel asked, her voice sounding a little hopeful. "Yeah crazy. He did. Finn and Puck are best friends and Puck said that since you two went on that date, Finn hasn't shut up about you. Which apparently is not like him or whatever, but that's my point. He's into you Rachel. And you are going to blow something that could be really great just because of your ex drama king boyfriend said so. You need to pull your head out of your ass, then take a shower because I know your rank ass hasn't in the past two days and then call that man. Because I swear if I hear you crying anymore I'm going to suffocate you with a pillow myself."

Rachel let a laugh fall out, even though her tears were still running down her face. "Thanks Santana. You're the best friend I could ever ask for." Santana waved her off, "Awe shut up. And go. Get in that shower and call him." Santana sent Rachel a smile before walking out and leaving her friend alone with her thoughts. Rachel inhaled a deep breath before letting it out. She pulled the covers back and walked towards her dresser, grabbing her cell phone from the top of it. 8 missed calls and 10 text messages. All from the man of the hour. Finn Hudson.

Rachel slid her finger across the screen, opening her texts.

-Rachel, I haven't heard back from you and I must say I'm a bit concerned. If I did anything to upset you I deeply apologize.

-I tried to call you in between meetings. I hope all is ok.

-Is this about the kiss? I really thought the feeling there was mutual. I apologize. I hope you can forgive me.

-Rachel, I am not used to whatever this is I am feeling, but I am losing it over here. And that isn't something I handle very well. I hope you will take the time to contact me.

Rachel couldn't read anymore. She was blown away by the fact that he truly seemed bothered by her lack of communication. She decided to take a shower and then she would call him. She made her way into her restroom and turned on the water before stripping down and stepping in. The water hit her body and she felt as if so much of her worries literally washed away.

When she stepped out, she wrapped a towel around her body as she heard Santana call out, "Rach, I'm headed to work. I'll see you tonight. Oh and I left something for you in the living room." Then the front door opened and shut behind her. Rachel had no idea what she was referring to so she wrapper her hair in a towel on top of her head and pulled her door open. She walked into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water before going to see what Santana had left her in the living room. As she rounded the corner she jumped, her bottle of water hitting the floor as she took in the sight of Finn standing there before her. "I'm sorry if I startled you." He said, and his eyes visibly raked up and down her Towel covered body. "I'm uh. I didn't know anyone was here." She said, pulling the towel tighter around her body. Finn stepped forward, invading her personal space, but she was unable to even make herself tell him not to. She felt his finger touch her chin, lifting her head up to look at him. "I can't Rachel." He said and Rachel looked away. This was it. This was him telling her that he couldn't see himself with someone like her. That she wasn't good enough. "You don't have to say it Finn. I already know. I'm not good enough. I'm not pretty enough. I'm not someone you could ever—" She wasn't able to finish her sentence because he pressed his lips into hers. It was primal and passionate and it set every inch of Rachel's body on fire. They walked backwards until Rachel's body pressed against the wall. He grabbed her wrists and lifter her hands above her head, holding them there while he mouth left hers and traveled down her neck. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she could barely keep herself standing. Her entire body felt like it was turning into mush as his tongue moved against her neck, hitting every spot that drove her crazy. He stopped for a second, his eyes looking straight into hers before crashing their lips together again. She felt her hands grabbing at the bottom of his shirt, pulling it out of his pants and up his body until he had to finish pulling it over his head. She felt her breath leave her lungs as she saw his bare, insanely muscular chest. She ran her fingers down his pecks towards his abs. His very, very defined abs. She looked up at him and he leaned over, this time kissing her excruciatingly slow. Her fingers began to work at his belt as she pulled him towards her bedroom. She pushed the door open and his hands moved from either side of her face to the towel around her body. She held her breath as she felt him open the towel and his eyes raked up and down her body, taking in the sight of her nakedness before him. "You're beautiful. So beautiful" He said and then Rachel unzipped his pants, shoving her hand inside and almost losing it when she felt how big and hard her was. "I want you. More than I have ever wanted anyone." He said, breathing against her lips. "Than take me. Now, Finn." Rachel said and she pulled the towel out of her hair as he picked her up off the ground and her legs wrapped around his body. She lay there on the bed, looking down at him at the foot of it while he slid his pants and boxers down to the floor and opened a condom, sliding it on before slowly climbing up the bed on top of her.

She spread her legs and as he positioned himself between them she could feel his erection pressing against her as they resumed kissing. His mouth moved down her chest and her fingers instantly tangled into his hair as she felt his tongue circle her nipple and gently bit it. His other hand squeezing and massaging her other breast. Her back arched and she ached for him. She had never been this turned on in her life and she felt as if she didn't feel him inside of her soon she may die. "Finn… Oh god.. God please.. Please.." She begged and he lifted his head that was only inches away from her heated core to look at her. "Please what Rachel? What do you want?" He asked, his breath hot against her center. "I need you. I need to feel you inside of me." She moaned. "Soon." He said and before she could protest she felt his tongue slide across her center. Her entire body jerked as she felt him take his time, exploring every inch of her with his tongue. She knew she was close to the edge when his finger pressed around her entrance and slid deep inside of her. "OH GOD!" She yelled and Finn continued on. When he could feel her walls tightening, he knew she was close. He kissed up her body and took himself in his hand, running the tip of his penis against her folds, wetting it enough to slide it inside of her.

Rachel looked up at him, their eyes locking as she felt Finn slide all the way inside of her in one deep thrust. "Rachel" he breathed into her neck and she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him into her as far as he possibly could go. Her nails dug into his shoulders, but he continued on. Pumping in and out of her, going deeper and deeper with each thrust. It didn't take long before Rachel's walls tightened against him and she was pushed over the edge. Screaming his name out in pleasure caused Finn to follow suit. He pressed as deep as he could inside of her as his own orgasm spilled out. "Rachellllll." He moaned and she squeezed him against her as tightly as her small frame would allow.

Finn pulled out of her and his body collapsed next to her on the bed. She pulled the sheet up over their naked bodies and curled up against him. His arm draped over her, pulling her impossibly closer. "Rachel, that was incredible." He said, and he meant it. This wasn't like the other hook up's he had experienced over the past years. This meant something to him. Even though he couldn't put his finger on exactly what that was, he knew it was something. "You're different." He said simply. Rachel lay there, waiting for him to elaborate but he didn't. She knew that just by saying those words he had taken a huge step. She didn't push him. Instead she simply said, "You're different too. And I like it."

Nothing else was said as the two were completely exhausted and dozed off to sleep. Hours later Rachel woke to the sound of her front door opening and shutting. 'Shit' she said softly, looking at her bedroom door that was still wide open and clothes strung across her floor. She tried to move, but Finn's arm only tightened around her body making it impossible for her to get up and shut the door. So she reached down and covered a fully exposed Finn with the sheet just in time for Santana to poke her head in the room.

"Oh shit. I'm sorry." Santana whispered and Rachel couldn't help but smile from inside Finn's embrace. "I didn't mean to wake you. I just wanted to check on you, but you seem to be in good hands. Literally." Santana said with a smirk and Rachel threw a pillow at the door. Finn stirred a little and Rachel looked down at him. "Ok, ok, goodnight. I'll talk to you about all of this in the morning." Santana said, pointing her finger around the room and scattered clothes. "Goodnight Santana." Rachel whispered as her friend shut the door and walked away.

Rachel snuggled back into Finn's arms and couldn't get over how amazing it felt. She had never felt this way about laying in a mans arms before. Finn was so special and she could tell this already. The way it felt to make love to him, to connect with him on that level was indescribable. He touched her and worshiped her as if she were the most special woman in the world and it made her heart race. The thought of kissing him made her feel weak in the knees.

"Rachel. You're thinking so loud I can hear you." Finn said, completely startling Rachel. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." She said, kissing his cheek and nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. "It's ok. I was awake when I heard Santana come in." He said and Rachel had to laugh. "You heard all that huh?" He nodded his head. "She's right you know?" He said and Rachel lifted her head to look at him quizzically. "What do you mean?" "She said you're in good hands. And she's right. There is nothing I would ever do to hurt you. I will always protect you. I don't know what it is, but I am incapable of being away from you. And this is all new to me, but I promise you… If you give me time to figure it all out, you won't be sorry." He said, never once opening his eyes. He turned onto his side, Rachel moving in the same direction as he spooned her from behind, his arm wrapping around her tiny frame and pulled her into his body. "Goodnight Rachel." He whispered. Rachel smiled into the darkness. The way she felt right here, right now… was a way she could definitely get used to feeling. "Goodnight Finn."


	5. Chapter 5

Cold As Ice – Chapter 5

Rachel was sitting at the counter, her mind completely drifted off in thoughts of Finn. The passed three and a half weeks had been incredibly amazing. He had taken her to dinner almost every night, and almost each time they ended up making love until the early hours of the morning. He only spent the night that first night and after that he ended up going back to his place. He said it was simply because he knew paparazzi would eventually catch on that he was seeing someone and he didn't want to drag Rachel into that world until they knew exactly where they were headed. So there were many nights of him sneaking out of her apartment at 3am, or her sneaking out of his house NY penthouse the same way.

Finn had broken practically every rule he had as far as women were concerned except for one. He had not told Rachel about his past and he wasn't sure he would. It was something he couldn't bring himself to discuss. And it wasn't for lack of trying on her part. She had tried on several occasions to get him to open up, but she learned quickly that the vault on Finn Hudson's past was sealed and impossible to open.

"Excuse me Miss? Can we get some more coffee over here?" An overweight truck driver called out, grabbing Rachel's attention. "Sure thing. I'll be right there." She said, grabbing the coffee pot and walking around the counter towards him. "Anything else?" She asked. "Just the check." He said and Rachel offered a polite smile before pulling it out of her apron and placing it on the table.

The man had just left and Rachel was leaning over, picking up the dishes and putting her $2 tip into her pocket. She felt naked without her cell phone. Unable to call or text Finn was driving her insane. Which is why she was here tonight, picking up a second shift of the day in order to make extra on her check to have her phone turned back on. As she turned around, dishes stacked high in her hands she came face to face with the person that had taken over her every thought. "Can I give you a hand?" He asked. He stood there in one of his Armani suits and deep blue tie, hair combed to perfection and that gorgeous smile on his face. The one that he knew made her weak in the knees. "You can take a seat at the counter and I'll pour you a cup of coffee." She said, shooting him a wink and disappearing to the back to discard the dishes. When she reappeared he was seated, his jacket sitting on the empty stool next to him. He placed his phone on the counter and laced his fingers together in front of him. "So. A funny thing happened today." He said, and Rachel reached for a coffee cup and poured him a cup. Black, like she had learned he preferred it. "Oh yeah? And what is that?" She asked. He accepted the cup from her and smiled. "Thank you." She nodded and put her elbow on the counter, her face sitting in her hand, waiting for him to tell her what had happened. "Well, I was leaving work and I pulled out my phone to call this really, really beautiful woman to see if she would like to join me for dinner tonight, but when I called the operator informed me that her phone was no longer in service. Sooooo, I was forced to call and speak to her overly opinionated and nosy roommate who informed me that her phone had been disconnected for lack of funds and that I could find her here working her second shift of the day." He took a sip of his coffee, staring at Rachel over the rim of the cup.

"Well, Mr. Hudson… not all of us having stacks of money sitting in our closets. So I had to pick up an extra shift to cover some bills. It's not a big deal, really." She tried her best to play it off. Finn set the cup down and reached across the counter, taking her hand into his. "The offer about the assistant position at my office still stands. I really wish you would consider it." He said sincerely. "Finn, while I appreciate the offer, I can't accept it. I don't want my boyfriend to give me a job just because we are together." She said and she noticed how Finns grip on her hand had loosened and his face was blank as he stared at her. She stopped talking and looked at him and he was pale white. "Finn? Are you ok? Did I say something that— Oh." She said, realizing what she had said without realizing it. "Finn, I didn't mean.. it just slipped.." She stuttered, wishing she could go back in time just 2 minutes and never have said 'boyfriend'. Finn shook his head, as if he were coming back to the conversation from being away. He noticed the way Rachel was flustered and he instantly felt bad. He reached over, grabbing her hands that were waving around as she spoke in a panic. "Rachel." He tried but she continued. "Rachel." He tried again, only louder. She stopped talking and looked towards him, sadness in her eyes. "Rachel, listen to me." He began. Her eyes filled with tears and she fought hard to keep them from falling. "I'm sorry I freaked out when you said that. You just have to understand that nobody has called me that in years. Several years." He said, stressing the word 'several'. "Rachel, whatever we have going on here is very special to me, and I care about you very much. I just don't know if you are ready for everything that comes with dating me. I'm not the person you think I am." He said, and she could see the pain in his eyes. She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. "I know that there is so much I don't know about you Finn, but I want to learn. And I'm not in any hurry to find out. However long it takes it as long as I'm willing to wait. You are special to me, and I haven't felt this way about anyone before in my life." She said and Finn felt his heart face. The way Rachel could make him feel with just the couch of her hand still amazed him and confused him at the same time. "I want to do this. With you… I want to try. But you have to be patient with me." He said, and Rachel could tell he meant it from the bottom of his heart. "What are you saying exactly?" She asked, wanting to make sure she knew for certain what he wanted. He sat up straight and stood. He walked towards the end of the bar and Rachel met him there. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her close. She looked up at him and her mouth went dry. His intense stare burning right into her soul. "I want you to be mine. I want to be the only man that gets to kiss you and the only man who is able to touch you in ways that others only dream of. I want you to be my girlfriend Rachel. And I want it so, so bad." Rachel felt the tears that had been setting in her eyes fall down her cheek only to have Finn brush them away with his thumb. "I want to be your girlfriend too Finn. More than anything." She stepped up on her tip toes and placed a tear stained kiss against his lips. It was soft, and brief but powerful.

"So it's official. You're my girlfriend, and I am your.. your..boy—" He couldn't force the words out and Rachel had to laugh. "You're my boyfriend Finn. You can say it. It's not a terminal disease." She laughed and he smiled at his own silliness. "Your boyfriend." Rachel clapped, "Look at you, saying those big grown up words." She playfully pushed him away and he returned to his seat and finished his coffee while they talked about their days. The diner was closing up and Finn excused himself while she closed. He sat in his town car outside making a couple of phone calls before he saw Rachel step outside. He didn't know what it was that came over him, but as he watched her locking the door and putting the keys in her pocked he pushed the door to the car open and all but ran up to her. He spun her around, her breath leaving her body as she felt him press into her, his lips covering hers. They kissed until their lungs burned from the need for oxygen. "Whoa." She said when they finally parted. "What was that for?" She asked with beaming eyes. "I just wanted to kiss my girlfriend. And I wanted to kiss her in a way that I couldn't inside there." He pointed towards the diner and she smiled. "Well I have no complaints about that. Well except for maybe one." He cocked his head to the side. "And what complaint would that be?" She stepped close to him, her perfume filling his senses. "That I wish it had lasted longer." She said shyly, looking up to him with a smile. He didn't say a word, instead he pulled her closer and kissed her again.

Inside the car, Finns hand rested on Rachel's thigh as she leaned her head against his shoulder while she filled him in on everything that had happened at work that night. Finn laughed at the funny parts and tensed up when she mentioned one of the regulars flirting with her. He knew Rachel was beautiful, so men would naturally flirt with her, but it didn't mean he had to be happy about it. She could feel him tense up at her story and she squeezed his hand, reassuring him that he had nothing to worry about. The car came to a stop outside of her building and Finn noticed Puck's truck parked out front. "Puck spends a lot of time here, huh?" He asked silently happy for his best friend. Puck wasn't the type of guy to settle down and only date one woman, so he knew that this Santana girl had to be something special for him to spend as much time with her as he did. That or the sex must be mind blowing. "Yeah, he is here almost every night now. I think they are really starting something." Rachel said and Finn could tell she was holding back something. "What's wrong?" he asked. "It's nothing. Really." She lied. "Rachel, what's wrong? And don't say nothing, because I know that it's not nothing." She looked away, not wanting to push the subject, or worse, ruin what had turned out to be an amazing night. "I guess I'm just jealous. That they spend the night together so much and we can't. And I know why we can't, with the photographers and everything, but still…. I wish we could have that. The normalcy of it." She said honestly.

"Rachel, I only do this to protect you. I don't want photographers hounding you and making your life miserable. I know how it is. They are relentless." Finn said, he hated that he was hurting her with this arrangement. "I know that. I do. I just wish it could be different. But I'll learn to accept it." She said and her tone broke Finn's heart. "Come by the office tomorrow, I want to talk to you more about that job. And not because you need the money, but because I need someone I can trust to work as my assistant. Someone who has access to my personal life that I know I can really trust with it." He said, looking her in the eyes and she knew he was being truthful. "I'll think about it." She said with a wink. "I better get upstairs. I promised Santana that we would watch the new episode of Grey's Anatomy tonight. We have had it recorded for a week and have yet to watch it." She started to get out but Finn stopped her and like usual, walked around the car and opened the door for her. "Thank you kind sir. So chivalrous." Her voice laced with flirtation. "It's my pleasure." He said, leaning down towards her. But seconds before their lips were to connect, the flash of a camera went off only a few feet away. "Shit" he said, pulling Rachel by the arm and leading her towards her apartment building. "Finn." She said, almost being drug behind him as his long legs moved much faster than hers could move. "Finn! You're going too fast!" She said and he stopped, quickly waiting for her to pass by and he opened the door for her to step inside. The flashes becoming faster and closer. "Mr. Hudson. Is that your new girlfriend? Are you and the girl an item? Can we get an official statement?" The photographer shouted and Finn blocked Rachel from the man. "I'm sorry. I have to go. I wanted to make sure you made it inside safely." He looked away and Rachel could see the pain in his eyes. "You really let them get to you don't you?" she asked, stepping closer to him now that they were out of sight from the camera. "I just wish they wouldn't find my life so interesting. It's really not. I'm just a regular guy." He said and Rachel's heart broke for him. "But you're not a regular guy Finn. You're an amazing one. And everyone just wants to know as much about you as they can. And I can speak for everyone when I say that I am the luckiest person of all because I get to see a side of you that no one else does. And it's a really great side. You try to put up the cold, hard demeanor but I can see right through that facade. You are kind, sweet and a hopeless romantic. You're like an onion… you have so many layers to you and I promise you, that if you let me, however long it takes, I will peel back every single one…in time." She said, closing the distance and placing a kiss on his lips. "Goodnight Finn." She said softly. She turned to walk away and Finn watched her.

'I'll let you peel every layer." He said when she was far enough away that she couldn't hear him. He walked outside, the photographer snapping photos and trying yet again to get some sort of statement, but Finn held up his hand, shielding his face until he was inside his car. "Everything alright sir?" his driver asked and Finn nodded. "To the house please." He said and the driver nodded, not saying another word as he took him home.

Finn lay in his bed, unable to sleep. He had been home a little over an hour and he tossed and turned. He wanted to call Rachel and talk to her, but her phone was disconnected and that made his skin crawl. She was this independent woman and while he respected her immensely for that, he wished she would let him help her more. Sure, he could have figured out her information and made the payment for her, but he knew she would probably chew his ass for it, so he bit his tongue and tried to push the urge to 'handle it' to the back of his mind.

He lay there, staring out the window watching the rain and lightening, wishing sleep to take him when he heard a soft knock on his door. He glanced at the clock by his bed, seeing that it was after 1am he wondered who it could possibly be. He walked towards the door, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and looked through the peep hole. He jerked the door open, "Rachel?" He asked, shocked to see her. "Are you ok? Come in." He said, pulling her inside and shutting the door. "It's pouring down out there, your soaked. Let me get you a towel." He said, pulling her deeper into his apartment.

"Finn. Stop." She said and he froze. He turned around and looked at her, she had a look on her face that he had never seen before, and he swallowed hard. "Wh—" He started but she held her hand up, her finger pressing against his lip as she took him by the hand and led him towards his bedroom. "Come with me." She said softly, and he did as she said, silently following her.

It was pitch black in his room, the occasional flash of light filling the room from the thunderstorm and Finn could feel his pulse quicken. Rachel pulled her soaked shirt over her head and let it hit the floor. Reaching behind her she unhooked her bra and slid the straps down her shoulders until it joined her shirt. He looked at her in the flashes and swallowed hard when he saw her biting her lip and her fingers working at the button on her pants. She slid them down her legs painfully slow along with her underwear before stepping out of them. She stepped towards him, her hands reaching for his hips, her thumbs tucking into the waistband of his boxers and pressing them down his toned legs. "Rachel." He said in a whisper, but she shook her head, telling him to not say anything. She took him by the hand once again and led him towards the bed. With her hand on his chest she pushed him back and he sat on the end of the bed.

She kissed him, soft and slow. His arms wrapping around her tiny frame, pulling her against his body. "I can't stay away from you. You're like a drug to me… the more I have you, the more and more I need. I can't get enough of you. And.." She began, but stopped. Finn could tell she wanted to say something else, but she hadn't. He pulled away, holding her tightly by her hips as the room lit up and he could see it. In her eyes he could see exactly what she was going to say. He swallowed, knowing that any moment she was going to say it and he was the happiest he had ever been, but yet he was also terrified beyond belief. "And what, Rachel?" He asked, wanting..no..NEEDING to hear her say this. "And I think I am falling in love with you. I KNOW I'm in love with you Finn. And I'm so scared. Scared that you don't feel the same way or that by me telling you this you will pull away from me and I couldn't take that. So just because I said this doesn't mean I am expecting you to say it. I know you aren't—" She let a small scream fall from her lips as he stood up suddenly and unexpectedly picked her up in one swift movement, spinning around and laying her on the bed. She saw the intense look in his eyes. One she couldn't quite read and it made her extremely turned on and nervous at the same time. "Rachel.. I.." he began, but stopped. She could feel the internal battle he was having, so she tried to reassure him once more. "Finn you don't have to—" She said but he stopped her with a kiss.

He pulled away and looked at her. "I love you Rachel. I love you more than I knew I could love someone. I do…. I love you." He said and she burst in tears, and a smile that covered her entire face. "I love you too Finn. I love you so much." Finn felt as it something inside of him burst. Maybe it was the love that he had been holding back, finally being set free. Maybe it was the excitement of having Rachel here, like this… completely giving herself to him. But whatever it was he knew he wanted to keep experiencing it. Where this woman came from and how she forced her way into his heart he had no clue, but he knew one thing. And that was he was undeniably and unequivocally in love with Rachel Berry and there was nothing that would stop him from loving her. " say a word, instead he pulled her closer and kissed her again. " way that I couldn'THey she dthe utside making a couple of ph


	6. Chapter 6

Cold as Ice – Chapter 6

Rachel and Santana were lounging around their apartment, enjoying their shared day off catching up on some reality TV and gossiping about Finn and Puck. "So? You have to tell me Rach. Is he as incredible in bed as he looks like he would be? The quiet ones are always the biggest freaks in the sheets." Santana said and Rachel took a handful of popcorn, throwing it in her direction. "Santana Lopez! How dare you ask me such a thing?" Rachel laughed. "Oh come on. You know I'm right. He is, isn't he?" She pushed and Rachel's eyes went wide and she shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe. Maybe not." She joke and her friend laughed. "Ha! He is! Rachel Berry, you little sex freak. I know you were a closet nympho! I knew it! Well hot damn, I'm happy for you. He has to be better that Jesse St. Jackass." Rachel laughed louder. "Oh girl, there is no comparison. Finn puts anything and everything Jesse ever tried to shame. I mean come on, you've seen Finn. His body is to die for. And I won't even mention how well he knows how to use his—" "Ok! Ok! I got the picture, clearly." Santana said with a laugh.

"Ok, enough about Finn. You need to tell me about you and Puck. You two seem pretty serious. Which is new for you, huh?" Santana smiled, playing with her popcorn and blushing. "I can't believe it. Santana, you're in love with Mr. Mohawk!" Rachel said, jumping up and moving to sit next to Santana on the couch. "Ok Rachel. Calm down. We haven't said it, but yeah. I mean I think I love him. But I'm not ready to tell him." She said and Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I never thought I would hear the day you said you were in love with a guy. He must be really something." Rachel said and she meant it. Breaking down Finn's walls was extremely hard, and Puck was in the same boat she was. Santana kept herself very guarded and she was letting him in. "I'm so happy for you. He really is a great guy and you deserve to be happy San. You really do." Santana smiled and looked at her best friend. "You do too Rach. Finn has put a smile on your face that I hadn't seen in so long. It's good to have the old Rachel back." "Thanks. He is amazing. I mean, all those articles that I read about him, about how he was this asshole and player… they don't reflect anything about him. Not the Finn I know anyway. I mean, I'm sure he had his fair share of women, but the Finn I am with is gentle and kind. He makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world." Santana could see it in Rachel's face. Something had happened recently that took Rachel's happiness to a whole new level. "Oh my God! You guys said it, didn't you? And don't you dare lie to me Berry. Remember I know you better than anyone does, and I can see it all over your face. You're in love with him." Rachel didn't even try to deny it. Instead she nodded, "We said it a couple of nights ago. I went to his house and it just sort of happened."

Santana sat there listening to Rachel as she told her a pretty close play by play of the night she and Finn had declared their love for one another. The way Rachel's face lit up when she spoke of Finn made Santana happier than she thought she could be for her friend. Rachel deserved this relationship, especially after all the hell Jesse put her through for a year. She decided that she would have to have a talk with Mr. Hudson, and make sure that he knew exactly how special of a girl he had and that he better not fuck it up. When someone knocked on the door, Santana jumped up to get it. "Can I help you?" She asked the delivery man who stood there with a small cardboard box in hand. "Deliver for—" "Rachel Berry." Santana interrupted and the man smiled, "Yes ma'am. How did you know?" he asked and Santana laughed. "Because it's always a delivery for Rachel Berry." The man looked at her confused, but handed her the clipboard to sign. "Thanks." She said, closing the door and walking over to Rachel, handing her the box. "Let's see what Richey Rich sent you today. I swear every day of you life is the lottery." Rachel shook her head, "Be quiet." She pulled the box open and her eyes went wide. "It's an iPhone. The NEW iPhone. She pulled it out of the box and the phone rang in her hand. "What the fu—" She said, but stopped long enough to answer it. "Hello?" She said, confused as to why she had this phone and why someone was calling it. "Well hello beautiful. I see you got your gift." Finn said and Rachel smiled. "Finn, why did you send me a phone. A ridiculously expensive phone." She heard him talking to someone she assumed was Blaine and then he came back on the line. "Sorry babe, Blaine had to ask me something about the interview for the assistants position today at 3… apparently there's this REALLY hot brunette coming in." He joked and Rachel smiled into the phone. She had finally agreed to go in for the interview and was actually excited about it. "Well is that so? Well sir you better be on your best behavior because you are a taken man. You have a very jealous girlfriend and don't you forget it." She played. "How could I forget? Anyhow, I just wanted to make sure you got this. I couldn't stand going another day without being able to call you. I miss your voice and not being able to call you and hear it at random times makes me sad. You don't want me to be sad do you?" He asked, and she shook her head, rolling her eyes at his adorableness. "No, we can't have that now can we? I'll accept the phone on one condition." She said and he replied, "I'm all ears." "You let me pay it back, in payments or something. But still I insist on paying for it. I don't want you giving me handouts." She said and Finn knew she was serious. "Yes ma'am. A business arrangement, no handouts. Of course." He said, knowing damn well that he wouldn't accept a penny of her money for the phone. "Ok then. Good. And thank you. This is incredible." She said and then Santana leaned over, close enough for Finn to hear her. "Hey there Finn, you know your girlfriends adorably sweet BEST FRIEND could use a new iPhone too." She said and Rachel pushed her away. "What was that?" Finn asked, and Rachel shook her head. "Nothing babe. Just Santana being Santana. How's work?" She asked. "Well we are getting ready for a press conference about the new space we just leased. We are turning it into a battered women's shelter. You know, good PR and all that." He said, trying to pretend that he was doing this for business and not because he had a huge heart. "Oh ok. Well I will let you prepare for that and I'll see you later today. 3pm right?" "Yes ma'am. I'll see you then. Bye babe." "Bye Finn. I love you." She said and her heart skipped a beat when she could hear him smile into the phone before saying, "I love you too. Bye Rach." And the line went dead.

"You two are so cute it's disgusting." Santana said. "And by the way, I was totally serious about wanting a new iPhone. Tell your boyfriend that your best friend needs the hook up too. You can't even buy those yet, so I don't even want to know how he got his hands on one." Rachel smiled, "He has this phone already too. But you will just have to wait." She said, sticking out her tongue and reaching for he remote to change the television to the station that would be airing Finn's conference.

It was only a few minutes before Rachel smiled at the sight of her handsome man on the screen. "Wow. He sure knows how to wear a suit." Santana said and Rachel hit her with a pillow. "Don't you have a boyfriend of your own that you can drool over?" Rachel asked and Santana shrugged. "yeah, but he doesn't wear suits and have a 'I'm so hot lets fuck against a wall somewhere' aura to him. "SANANTA!" Rachel screamed. Finn walked onto the stage, standing behind the podium while photographers snapped photo after photo of him. The logo for the new shelter behind him and he pointed towards the first reporter for a question. "Mr. Hudson, will the facility be ready before the new year?" Finn nodded, "The building will be fully functional by the end of December." He moved on, answering several questions until Rachel heard her name. Santana spoke up, "Did they just say your name?" Rachel turned the volume up, listening to the reporter repeat he question. "It's rumored that you have a girlfriend. Care to comment and confirm or deny?" Finn leaned over, Blaine whispering into his ear and then Finn standing up straight, looking the reporter directly in the face. "The rumors about me being in a relationship are true. I am in a relationship and it is one that is new and yet serious. I ask that everyone respect our privacy and allow us to have a relationship without the prying and meddling of the media." Finn said and Rachel felt her heart race. He just announced to the entire world that he was off the market. Sure he didn't say WHO he was seeing, but every woman in New York who had dreamed of getting a chance with Finn Hudson was just told that it would never happen. "The woman who is rumored to be your girlfriend is Ms. Rachel Berry, correct?" Rachel swallowed hard, so much for not mentioning her name. "Yes. Ms. Berry and I are together. And again, I ask that you all respect her privacy and not bombard her with photos and questions. She has her own life to live and the media doesn't need to interfere with that. That is the last question I will be answering about my relationship with Ms. Berry. If you have anything else regarding the shelter, feel free to ask." Finn said, his shoulders broad and a slight smile on his face made Rachel beam with a smile. "Well Rach…. I think it's safe to say that he's got it bad. He just made sure everyone knew he was no longer, Finn Hudson.. professional bachelor." Santana said and Rachel nodded. "He isn't the only one." She added.

Rachel was on top of the world right now after watching Finn's press conference. He had called her shortly afterwards and made sure to apologize for making the announcement without discussing it with her before hand, but she quickly assured him that she was perfectly fine with it. She may have mentioned how lucky he would be getting tonight as well and he couldn't hid his excitement about it. After their call she got ready for her interview and walked out of the apartment. What she was not prepared for was the swarm of paparazzi that had been waiting outside for her to emerge. "Ms. Berry, Finn Hudson said that the two of you were engaged in a relationship. Can you confirm for us that it is in fact true?" One man said and Rachel stood there, frozen and shocked. "Um, yes. We are together." She managed to say as the cameras went off repeatedly. "Ms. Berry, can you confirm or deny how many nights Mr. Hudson stays at your apartment? Or you stay at his? Are you two planning to get married? Are you pregnant?" Questions came at her non stop and she shook her head, unable to process them all. She just wanted to get to her car and drive away, but their were so many of them. Suddenly she felt an arm wrap around her and guide her through the mass of people. "Back up vultures. She already said what you wanted to hear, now back off." Puck said, his arm tightly wrapped around Rachel as he helped her into her car.

"Thank you Puck. " she said and she really was grateful for his help. "No problem. No you go, I'll get rid of these assholes." He shut the door and Rachel started her car, driving away and looking at the sea of cameras behind her. "Wow…. He wasn't joking when he said his world was a lot to take in." She said to herself. She pulled into the parking lot of Hudson Enterprises and walked inside. She hit the button for Finn's office floor and let herself catch her breath in the elevator. She didn't want Finn to see her like this and then him have doubts about weather or not she could handle the media pressure. She managed to shake it all off before the doors opened to his floor. Immediately he was greeted by a woman who offered to take her coat and asked if she wanted anything to drink. "Water is fine, thank you." Rachel said, taking a seat in the waiting area. She wasn't there but a couple of minutes when a young man with his hair slicked to the side approached her. "Ms. Berry? Mr. Hudson is ready for you now." Rachel looked at the man as she walked with him. This had to be Blaine she thought to herself. Finn had told her a lot about him. "You're Blaine, right?" She asked as they came to a stop outside of the conference room. "Yes ma'am. And you're Rachel Berry. You're pretty popular around here. Everyone is in awe of the woman who was able to thaw the ice around Finn Hudson's demeanor." Blaine said with a wink before walking away, leaving Rachel to conduct her interview. She smiled as she pushed the door open to reveal a sexy suited Finn on the other side.

She walked towards him, and tried to give him a kiss only to have him pull away. She looked at him confused and she saw his half smile and wink. "Ms. Berry. It's a pleasure to meet you." He said, and Rachel had to fight the urge to laugh. She had stressed to him about how she wanted to be treated like everyone else if she were to take the job and he was simply playing along. She tilted her head to the side and smiled. "Yes. And you must be Mr. Hudson. I must say, your photos don't do you justice." She said with a smile before walking over to the table and taking a seat. Finn had to shake his head and clear his throat in order to pull this one off. His body was aching for her touch, and if he had his way about it, he would hire her instantly then have his way with her right here on the conference room table. But he was playing Rachel Berry's game right now, so he kept his thoughts to himself. Later tonight he would make sure to voice these thoughts. Loudly, and repeatedly until Rachel couldn't take any more of his 'thoughts'.

"So Mr. Hudson. I was told that you had an available position for an Administrative Assistant. What exactly does the job entail?" She asked, pulling a pen from her purse and holding it against a legal pad, awaiting his answer. "Well, as you know I am a very busy man. There are several people that need to get in touch with me at all times of the day and night. While I am mostly available during the day time, there are times when I would need you to step in and handle calls. The evenings I am extremely busy with my personal life, taking care of deep… deep… thrusting issues and I am unable to receive calls during those…. Times." He said, using Rachel's own game to play against her. He noticed how she gathered the hair that was lying around her neck and brushing it away, her face the slightest red as if the head had been turned up. "Do you have any special needs, or requirements that must be taken into consideration? She asked and he nodded. "I have some….needs… that only my personal assistant can help me with. They are hard.. hard.. tasks, but I'm sure you can rise to the challenge." He said and Rachel swallowed, the tip of the pen touching her lip.

The game they played seemed to last a while and Finn couldn't hide the fact that he was rock hard under his slacks as Rachel walked over to shake his hand and thank him for the position. "The pleasure was all mine, Ms. Berry." He said, his voice laced with sexual desire. Rachel looked down, noticing his obvious dilemma and licked her lips before her eyes met his. "Do you have a restroom I can use to freshen up?" She asked, eyeing his crotch again. "It's right through there." He said, pointing towards the small room off the side of the conference room. Rachel stood and walked towards it, her hips swaying enough to make Finn's eyes almost pop out of his head. When she reached the doorway she turned and looked back over her shoulder, her eyes fluttering before she winked and disappeared behind it. Finn sat there for 15-20 seconds before he pressed the chair back and walked extremely fast towards the door Rachel had just went through. The second he pushed the door open he felt Rachel's hands pull on the lapels of his suit. Her hands pressing his jacked back as he jerked at his tie. Opening his shirt as she untucked it from his pants and he slipped it over his head. He reached down, pulling Rachel's dress up from around her thigh. There was no time to take it off completely as his desire for her grew by the second. Once the dress was around her waist he reached down, cupping her ass with his hands as their breathing sped up even more.

"Finn! Oh god, I need you. NOW!" She growled and he did exactly as she said. He held her up as he slid inside of her. Her back against the wall and her fingers tugging on his hair and he pressed into her repeatedly, harder and harder with each thrust. She took what felt like seconds before she felt herself come undone and he had to cover her mouth with his hand to hide her screams. When she felt Finn tensing up, signaling that his release was coming she pressed her lips against his in attempt to swallow his moans. He thrust into her a few more times until he slowed down to a still. She felt him pull out of her and she instantly missed the feeling of him.

He looked down and instantly the look of pure exactify that had just been there on his face was replaced with fear. "Oh my God. Rachel, we didn't use…-" He felt himself panicking. "Finn.. Finn calm down… It's ok. I started the birth control a few weeks ago. We are fine." She said and he rested his head against her shoulder and let out a deep breath. "I can't believe I was so careless. I just couldn't think straight. All I could think about was being inside of you. It was as if I needed it to breathe." Rachel rested her head against his forehead and kissed him softly. " I know what you mean. And that was hot, but if I'm going to be working with you we have to learn to control ourselves at work." She said, pulling her dress down and fixing her hair in the mirror. Finn worked at his pants and re-fixed his shirt and tie. "I can deal with that. As long as I get to see you everyday it will be worth it. And besides, I can spend all day thinking about how badly I want to take you and then do it when we get home." He said with a wink in the reflection of the mirror.

Once she was presentable and they felt that nobody knew they had just fucked like teenagers in the restroom, Finn walked her out. Everyone looked at them, knowing exactly what had just played out, but pretended to be none the wiser. "Thank you for the meeting Mr. Hudson." Rachel said as she stepped on the elevator. "Thank you, Ms. Berry." He said as he shot her a wink just as the doors closed.

He spun around and everyone that had just been standing still, watching the couple quickly busied them selves in an attempt to pretend they hadn't been staring at the couple. Finn shook his head and went back into his office. He figured they all knew what he had just done with his girlfriend, but frankly he didn't give a damn. The perks of being the boss, he thought. And Rachel Berry was the greatest perk in his life.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So I received a review moments ago that didn't quite set well with me. Sure I know everyone has a right to their opinion and while I am more than fine with receiving some constructive criticism, I am NOT cool with someone trying to make me feel as if I'm doing something horrible by writing about how intense and accomplished Finn is in this story. The review stated that "being intimidated by a potential partner is really bad. And went on to say that this is a serious issue and it needs to be taken into consideration. So my reply to that comment is this:

Rachel and Finn met under some unusual circumstances. Finn is closed off to the world and to people in general, as well as letting himself feel things for others considering he went through something traumatic and has yet to recover from it. He isn't "Intimidating" Rachel to a point where she feels threatened or less of a person by it. So, why this easy going story about a guy who's had a rough go at his personal life has come off to you as a " situation that needs some serious attention" is lost by me. He has never been rude or violent towards Rachel, and if you have read all the chapters you will see how he is changing right before your eyes with each day that Rachel is in his life. So…. That's about all I have to say regarding that.

Ok so everyone else who is ENJOYING this story, I hope you like this next chapter. I needed a way to build up towards the next chapter so I hope I can keep you wanting more.. Enjoy!

Cold As Ice – Chapter 7

The conference room was filled with all the employees from Hudson Enterprises. Rachel sat there, looking around the room feeling as if she were sitting in a dark room with a spotlight shining down on only her. She could feel people staring at her and she was certain that the whispers they shared were about her. She knew that everyone know she and Finn were a couple, and now she was his assistant. She worried that everyone would think that she had just gotten the job because she was sleeping with the boss. Of course no one would say anything about that to Rachel's face, she was certain of this but still, she felt incredibly out of place. She had to talk herself out of standing up and walking out of the room.

As they all opened their briefcases and pulled out tablets and pens Rachel felt as if she were naked. She wasn't prepared for this meeting obviously and she sat there, fidgeting with her hands. Blaine looked over from the seat next to her before reaching into his bag and pulling out a second legal pad and pen before sliding it over to Rachel. "Relax. You will get the hang of this in no time." He said with a wink and Rachel offered him a smile and a thank you before the doors opened and 3 people came walking inside, their hands full of small trays with coffee's and pastries. They walked around the room asking how each person took their coffee before adding the ingredients and setting them in front of each person along with a muffin. Rachel was impressed, Finn was over the top when it came to his meetings and she smiled to herself. She was constantly in awe of her boyfriend. She shook her head, thinking to herself. "He's not your boyfriend when you are here Rachel. He is your boss. Plain and simple. Nothing more and nothing less from 8am until 5 pm he is off limits."

She took a sip of her scalding hot coffee just as she looked up and saw the man she had spent the better part of the early morning worshiping before going to her apartment to get ready for her first day of work. Since the day of his press conference and their relationship becoming public, she had spent almost every night at his place and she loved it.

"Good morning, everyone." He said to no one in particular as he walked towards the head of the table and placed his briefcase down. He had yet to look at Rachel, but he could feel her eyes on him. He had to keep himself from smiling at the fact that she was sitting only a few feet away from him. He unbuttoned his suit jacket, the one that Rachel had picked out for him to wear because she said he looked like a Calvin Klein model in it and that it made her want to jump him at just the sight of him in it. She had to reposition herself in her seat, trying to ignore the throbbing feeling she had in her center from imagining the things she would like to do to him right now. "I assume everyone had a good weekend?" He asked, and several people commented while he opened his briefcase and pulled out several papers. "Ok so the point of this meeting today is to discuss the plans for Hudson Enterprises latest project. Please, when you receive your packet, turn to page 3 and look over the layout. Everything is described in more detail and then we can discuss it." He said as Blaine stood up and began passing out folders to each person. Rachel wasn't sure why she was needed in this meeting, as she was simply his personal assistant and nothing more. S he imagined that her job would entail tons of phone calls or running errands to get his coffee or pick up his laundry from the dry cleaners. Finn had told her the night before that he wanted her to be in all meetings so she could learn the way the company worked before focusing on anything else. So here she sat, opening the folder and scanning her eyes over the detailed pages. Finn insisted on putting these presentations together on his own, even though he had a more than capable staff to do it for him. He said he felt more involved in his company by doing this. Rachel's mouth dropped when she saw what exactly this plan was. She didn't realize she was speaking out loud until it was too late and she quickly covered her open mouth with her hand. "You're remodeling the theatre?" She asked.

Everyone at the table turned to look at her, shocked that she had said anything when almost never did anyone question Finn's decisions on a project. Finn smiled a half cocked smile and raised an eyebrow. "Ms. Berry." He began and she looked down at her paper, instantly regretting the fact that she opened her mouth. "Everyone, I apologize for not doing this sooner, but I would like to introduce the newest employee here at Hudson Enterprises, and my personal assistant Ms. Rachel Berry. Rachel will be handling all of my personal affairs as well as building up to handle the payroll aspect of this place." Rachel looked shocked, and she was far from the only one. This was all news to her and she made a note to ask Finn why he decided this later. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I look forward to working with each of you." She said and everyone offered their kind words to her. She could tell several of them would rather have used a different choice of words for Rachel, but they were in no way trying to lose their jobs by pissing off their boss so instead they went with the kinder option. The option that kept them employed.

Finn continued, "Ms. Berry? Did you have any questions about the plan at hand?" He asked, crossing his hands on top of the paper in front of him. "Oh, um. No. I was just surprised to see that you were working on the theatre, that's all. It has been closed for years, well since the fire and no one has had any interest in reopening it. It's a shame really, it was such a great place for young, up and coming actors and actresses to get some real exposure and experience." She said and everyone watched as Finn smiled. They all wore matching shocked expressions. This was a side of their boss that they had NEVER seen before, and everyone knew that the brunette sitting across from him was the reason behind it.

"Well Ms. Berry. I see this as an opportunity to bring in some decent money. Ticket sales and other things will be another great source of income for this company and as I have always stated, this company thrives on it's ability to draw in the American dollar." He winked when everyone's eyes were on Rachel and she felt her face flush. He could sit there and talk until he was blue in the face, trying to make her believe that he did these things for the payout and the payout alone when she knew that there were more reasons behind his logic. "Well I for one sir, think this is an incredible idea." She smiled.

The rest of the meeting passed quickly and Blaine showed Rachel to her new office. The office had two walls of nothing but floor to ceiling windows, a small silver desk in the middle with two plush chairs across from it. An apple lap top sat in the middle of the desk with a phone and a rack for files. She glanced around the room and thought to herself that this place was nicer than her entire apartment before Blaine brought her out of her daze. "Is everything ok here Ms. Berry?" Rachel turned around and offered him a smile. "Blaine, please call me Rachel. We are coworkers now and I would love it if we could establish a work type friendship." She said and he smiled back, obviously happy with that idea. "Ok Rachel. So, do you have any questions?" "Yes actually… can you uh, tell me what exactly I need to do?" She said and they both laughed. "Well, Mr. Hudson comes into the office daily by 9am sharp. Some days he will be later if he has a breakfast meeting. Other than that he will be here and you can almost bet your life on the fact that he is on time. He insists on punctuality from himself as well from everyone that works for him." Rachel nodded, taking in everything he said and making mental notes. She shook her head, letting him know to continue. "When he comes in, he likes to have a cup of coffee ready and waiting. I usually handle that since he hasn't had a personal assistant in quite some time, but now that he does… he takes it—" "Black" Rachel said, interrupting him and letting him know that she already knew that. "Right. I forgot you probably know more about him than anyone here that has worked for him in 3 years." Blaine laughed. "Well I don't know about that. But regardless, while we are here I am just another employee. No different or more important that you or anyone else. I'm your equal and you have my word that I will treat you as such. I don't want any type of special treatment just because Mr. Hudson and I have a personal relationship outside of here." Blaine studied Rachel for a moment, searching for any reason to believe that the words she spoke were untrue. But to his surprise, he could tell that she genuinely meant them. "Great. Well, I am looking forward to working with you. So, you might want to grab that notepad while I tell you some other key things you might want to know about his day to day routine." "Ok. On it." She said, pulling the pad out and continuing their conversation.

Once Blaine filled Rachel in on her basic job description and wrote down the names and addresses of his tailor, barber, attorney, accountant, cleaners and favorite lunch/dinner locations for the occasional pick up or deliveries when his days are busier than planned. Rachel smiled when she realized that she knew the answers to several of these things without Blaine telling her, but she pretended to be hearing this all for the first time. A knock on the door made the conversation stop as both she and Blaine looked up to find an older aged woman standing there in a deep red dress suit and a beige scarf wrapped around her neck. "Excuse me, but I am looking for Ms. Rachel Berry? My name is Carmen Isles and I am the interior decorator that Mr. Hudson hired to redecorate your office." Blaine stood up, patting Rachel on the shoulder. "Have fun." He winked and walked out to leave Rachel alone with the woman.

Rachel had to admit, she was overjoyed with the idea of decorating the office to match her own personality and likes. She didn't go overboard although the woman told her that she had been instructed to have Rachel choose anything and/or everything she wanted, money being of no object. The rest of the day went by smoothly, Rachel learning the ropes of how the office flowed and she called to order and have Finn's lunch delivered to work. He tried to get her to share with him in his office, but she declined, saying she would eat the lunch she had brought in the break room with the other employees. It wasn't easy to say no to him when he gave her those puppy dog eyes and even broke out the pouty lips, but she managed to stay strong. When the day ended, she walked out with Blaine and another woman she had learned was named Amanda. Amanda worked in the filing room and was in charge of payroll for the time being. She had been very friendly and welcoming to Rachel and they became fast friends.

She walked into her apartment, Santana sat at the shared desk, scrolling through an article online. "Hey Rach. How was your first day under your man? I mean, it wasn't your first time being UNDER him, but ya know." Santana said, spinning her chair around to greet her friend. Rachel hung her jacket on the hook by the door and turned around with a smile. "Ha ha funny Santana. It was great actually. I met everyone there and while there were a few that looked at me as someone who literally slept my way into the job, there were others that were very welcoming." Santana couldn't help but snicker at the comment. "What?" Rachel asked, her hand on her hip. "Well, ya know… ya kinda did sleep your way right into that job. I mean I know that's not WHY you slept with him, but it's still kind of funny when you think about it." Rachel rolled her eyes and let her body collapse into the recliner. "OH hey! You will never guess what Finn is doing." Rachel said, sitting on the edge of her seat, and Santana could see the excitement written across her face. "Finn.. well, his company, is remodeling and then reopening the theatre! The one that we used to sneak into and watch the small off Broadway shows when we were in high school. Do you remember?" Rachel said and Santana now joined in with her excitement. "Are you shitting me? That is probably the coolest thing he has done that you have told me about so far. And that is beyond cool for you." Santana said, but Rachel went from excited to confused rather quickly. "What do you mean that's cool for me? What does that place have to do with me?" Santana shook her head with a laugh. "Are you that blind? Can you not see the reasons behind him reopening a theater that has been closed for over 10 years? He sure isn't doing it because the place is a huge eye sore now that it's abandoned."

"I have no idea what you are talking about. He is opening the theatre so he can start bringing in customers to see the shows. And customers mean money. There is no other reasoning behind that." Rachel really had no idea why Santana thought that this theater had anything to do with—wait… he wouldn't. Would he? She thought to herself. "And now the light bulbs are coming on folks. The idea just registered into that big brain of yours." Santana said before making a 'ding ding ding' noise with her mouth. Rachel turned to look at her, speechless. "You don't really think… do you?" Rachel asked and Santana continuously nodded. "Oh yeah. I do think. I mean come on. This is the guy who flew you to his house in his PRIVATE helicopter just for DINNER at her house on your first date. The guy who sent you an iPhone that nobody even has yet. The guy who hired you to work as his personal assistant and paying you more money than the owner of the diner makes in a month. I am pretty sure it's safe to say he is opening this theatre and has one woman in particular in mind to be his opening act. He's doing this for you Rachel, no if's and's or but's about it. He's got Berry fever and it's one serious case of it." Santana walked off with a smile. "Where are you going?" Rachel asked, pouting because she wanted to talk to her some more about this.

"Puck is on his way to pick me up. We are going to dinner to talk about something he said was very important." She said, her eyes wide when she stressed the words 'very' and 'important'. "Maybe he's going to tell you the magical 3 words tonight." Rachel said and the obvious look of fear took over Santana's face. "Santana, relax. I swear, you and Finn could be twins. Well if you were about a foot and a half taller with broad shoulders and a chest that is to die for. No to mention his—" "Ok! Hold it right there before you make me want to rape YOUR boyfriend. I get it, he's hot and all that. We know, we know. And I get it, I'm not really open to talking about feelings and all that, but who knows. Maybe IF that is what he wants to talk about I may just surprise myself and say it back." Rachel jumped up and ran towards her best friend, throwing her arms around her neck. "I'm so happy for us San. We both ended up getting these two incredibly handsome and sweet men and out of nowhere. It's like the total opposite of where we were a year ago with that asshole I was dating and with the strays you seemed to bring home." Santana nudged Rachel with her shoulder and said 'shut up' while her smile shined. "It's definitely a nice change."

An hour later, Santana stepped out of her room, dressed in a floor length black dress that clung against her body in a very flattering way. "Whoa. You look beautiful. Puck is going to lose his mind when he see's you. Where is he taking you?" Rachel asked. "He won't tell me. But he said to dress really nice because this place wasn't easy to get into. He said he even had to use Finn's connections to get in. So I'm guessing it's not a burger joint." She laughed. "Well you have a great time. I'm going to shower and work on some things for work tomorrow. Have fun." Rachel said, picking up her laptop and disappearing into her bedroom. She looked at the clock, knowing that Finn should be getting out of the gym any second now. And it was as if he could hear her thinking because she heard her phone ring and his name on the screen. His photo now filling the screen from his contact picture. One night after several rounds of lovemaking Rachel and Finn lay in bed, talking and snuggling for several hours. At one point he was laying between her legs, his face on his hands as he rested his arms across her body. He was looking up at her with a smile that was genuine. She clicked a photo, expecting Finn to get upset or ask her to delete it and when he didn't she couldn't hide how happy she was. She used it for his contact photo as well as her wallpaper and she loved it.

"Hello handsome." She said into her phone, but Finn was quiet, only offering a small 'hi'. "Is everything ok babe? What's wrong?" Rachel asked, sitting up in her bed, her heart racing almost instantly. What he said next was the last thing she ever expected to hear out of his mouth. "My mom… she's uh. She's really sick. The hospital just called me to let me know that if at all possible, I should find a way to go see her before…" Finn couldn't even finish his sentence before Rachel could hear what she was him crying. "Finn, baby.. where are you right now? I'm coming to you, just tell me where you are." She said, standing up and jerking a change of clothes from her dresser and pulling them on quickly. "Finn, tell me where you are, please?" She asked again, her tennis shoes in one hand and her car keys in the other as she ran down the stairs of her apartment building. "I'm at the apartment. I have to…." He didn't finish so Rachel pressed on. "You have to what? What do you need to do, I'll help you." He let out a breath, his nostrils flaring as she forced the air out of his nose. "I have to go home… back to my hometown. And I'm not sure how long I will be gone, but this is something I have to do. It's my mom Rachel… I can't lose her too." He said, sounding almost child like and it made Rachel want to cry just out of hearing it. She didn't push him or ask what he meant by 'too' even though she assumed it meant he had lost his dad. Instead she asked something she never in a million years expected him to agree to. "Finn? Do you want me to go with you? For support? I can stay in the hotel while you're handling whatever you need to handle. I Just want to be near by in case you need me." She said and Finn didn't take long to answer like he did all her previous questions. "Would you really do that for me?" "Of course I would. I told you Finn… there's nothing that I wouldn't do for you. And I meant it."

"I would really like that. If you could go with me. I know this isn't going to be easy, and you are the only person who can make things better when it feels like it were impossible." Rachel put her car into drive and pulled into the street. "Ok baby. I'm heading towards you now, I'll help you pack and we can book a flight at the same time. We can stop back by my place to grab clothes once we know what time our flight will be." She said, but Finn replied. "We don't have to book a flight. I already called the pilot, they are fueling the jet now, go back and pack your things an my driver will pick you up in 20 minutes." He said and Rachel pressed on the break, busting a U turn in the middle of the street. She waved at a woman who sped past, waving her arm around and obviously cursing Rachel for her driving. "Ok, I will be ready." Rachel said and Finn began to end the call. Rachel spoke up quickly before he could hang up. "Finn? I'll be right there, as long as you want me to be, holding your hand. You aren't doing this alone babe. Nothing that happens will ever be something neither of us has to face alone."

Finn was silent for a moment then said, "I love you so much Rachel."

"I love you too Finn. See you in a few babe."

The phone disconnected and Rachel scaled the stairs towards her apartment in record time. She packed her bags, unsure of how long they would be wherever it was they were going and left a note for Santana. Although Rachel knew that what lay ahead of her unknown, she would keep her head up and show Finn that while she might not be able to shower him with expensive gifts or take him to fancy places, she would always be able to offer her something that money could never buy. And that was her heart. No way would anything ever stop her from being the rock like the one Finn Hudson was for her.


	8. Chapter 8

Cold as Ice – Chapter 8

Finn sat in the seat, staring out of the window, not saying a word. It was how he had spent the past 35 minutes since the moment he and Rachel had boarded his private jet, bound for the one place he swore he would never return to. Rachel could see that Finn had so much worry on his mind. The way his forehead wrinkled and his eyes stayed with a steady glare. She wanted to reassure him that he wasn't alone, that whatever it was that was happening would be ok. But she knew that she couldn't promise him that. She couldn't promise him that everything was going to work out and that his mom would be alright. Instead of speaking, she sat next to him, silently holding his hand and running her opposite hand up and down his arm, trying to relax him the best she could.

"Rachel… before we get there, I have something I need to tell you." Finn said, and Rachel felt suddenly nauseous. She knew that whatever this was that he was going to tell her, it was serious. She had learned enough about Finn to know when the tone of his voice means he is joking, or making light of something…..and also when he is being serious.

"Ok?" She asked, not pressuring him but letting him know that she's ready to listen whenever he is ready to talk.

"There's a part of me… a part of my past that I'm not proud of. And I am terrified that once you find out you will not want to be with me any longer. I can't say that I would blame you if you did decide to end this, but I want you to know that what I feel for you is real. And I hope that once I say what I'm about to tell you that you can try to look in your heart and understand that I never meant for it to happen."

That nauseous feeling hit her ten fold. The way he was speaking sounded very much like a speech that Jesse had given her after they dated for a few months. It was the "I slept with someone else and it was a complete and utter mistake, so please forgive me" speech. "Finn, if something happened with you and someone else, please.. just stop. I want to be here for you through this, but I can't handle hearing you tell me that you have been with someone else."

Finn shook his head, blown away by her accusation. "Rachel are you crazy? I would never do that to you. I love you far too much to throw what we have away over what? Meaningless sex? That's ridiculous. Although telling you that I cheated on you would probably make you look at me with a less amount of disgust then what you are going to have in your eyes after I tell you this." He looked away once more, and she could see that he was trying to find the courage to say this.

"Finn, whatever you have to tell me will not change the way I feel for you. I love you, all of you. All of your past mistakes and all of the ones you will make in the future. Because that is what you do when you love someone. You look past their imperfections and focus on the good qualities. And babe, you have so, so many great qualities that I could never think badly of you. Please, just tell me what it is that has you so upset so we can get through it together." She said, touching the side of his face and she felt him stiffen up. He hadn't done that since the very beginning of their relationship and she felt as if she had done something wrong. "I'm sorry." She whispered, pulling her hand away but Finn grabbed it, holding it against his face before she could move it.

He turned his head and looked at her, huge tears filling his eyes. Rachel felt her heart break at just the sight of his raw emotions. He was so exposed and she had never imagined seeing him this way. He hid everything so well and she often wondered if she would ever be able to get through to his soft layer considering his hard layer was so thick. He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to keep any tears from falling.

"The last time I was in Lima it was for my step father's murder trial." He said, letting the words linger in the air. Rachel had gasped at his words and he felt her hands slightly move as if she were thinking of pulling away from him. He started to release her hand but she squeezed his, looking at him with her dark brown eyes, silently telling him to continue.

"He and I had went to a baseball game and on our way home… someone—" Finn had to stop for a second to compose himself. His voice had already begun to crack and he knew that he was on the verge of breaking down. This was the first time he had spoken of the events from that night since the day he gave his statement in court. "And…. And a drunk driver slammed into my car. I don't remember much of the details because I was knocked unconscious. I woke up for only a second and I saw him…. He was.. there was so much blood. I screamed for him but he never answered me. Before I could scream for him again and try to wake him I passed out from the pain in my shoulder and neck." He stopped once again and Rachel squeezed his hand, blinking quickly, trying to keep herself from crying.

"When I came to I was in a hospital bed and my mom was sitting next to me. The first thing I asked was if my step dad was ok. My mom didn't answer, instead she stood up and hugged me as much as she could with my arm in a sling and she cried. She cried so hard that night. She cried for the loss of her husband and she cried out of happiness that her son had managed to be spared."

"I can't imagine how she felt in that moment. Losing the person you love had to have been unbearable. But at the same time her happiness for being able to have her son is natural." Rachel said, worrying that Finn felt like he should have died and his step father lived.

Finn shook his head, his own thoughts battling inside of him. "I haven't seen my mom since the day of court except for one time and only one time. I moved to New York and buried myself in the company. I needed something….anything to make my mind stop seeing him in that car, blood all over his face and from seeing the pain and heartache in my mom's eyes." He took a breath and then wiped a tear that managed to slip out before continuing. "She hadn't heard from me in months, and one night I was in the apartment when I heard someone knocking. I didn't speak to anyone so someone knocking on my door was not a usual occurrence. When I opened the door I saw my mother standing there, she looked broken and like she hadn't slept in the months that had passed. She…. She begged me to let her in, to stop pushing her and everyone else away but I couldn't. I couldn't stop thinking that if I had only stopped for a burger like he had asked instead of being so wrapped up in getting back home so I could—

"Finn, baby…stop. What happened that night was not your fault. Just because you wanted to get home didn't make that man slam into you. You not wanting to stop for food didn't put you there just for the accident to happen." "The only person that is to blame for that night is the man who had let him self get so incredibly drunk and then get behind the wheel of his vehicle. It was HIS fault Finn. Not YOURS." Rachel stressed and Finn couldn't look at her. He was terrified that he would see a different look in her eyes, as she would now see him differently.

"I know that Rach, I mean my mind knows it. My mind knows that I didn't physically kill the man my mom was so in love with and take away her happiness. But my heart? My heart tells me that my mom was living her dream life. A man that was good to her, and treated her the way my biological father never did. My heart tells me that I took away every chance she had at happiness. How am I supposed to look her in the eyes after something like that?" He asked, almost begging Rachel to tell him how to handle this.

"First of all, you're mother loves you. Even though I don't know her and I have never spoken to her a day in my life I know for a fact that she loves you because you are impossible not to love. You have the most amazing heart and I have only seen small parts of it so far. I am sure your mom has seen the whole thing and that right there tells me that she loves you because once someone experienced the powerful way that you love… there is no way for them to fight their feelings for you. Trust me… I tried and I failed. You are a great man." Rachel said and Finn tried to interrupt her, shaking his head in disbelief. Rachel took his face into her hands and when he tried to look away she turned him once again. "You are a beautiful, kind, gentle man. And I know how much I miss you when I have to go a few hours without you, so I can only imagine how badly your mother misses you. And right now isn't about what happened two years ago. Right now is about your mom and being there for her. I'm not saying that we don't need to work through everything you are feeling about the accident, because we do. And I say WE because your days of dealing with these feelings and demons alone are over. You and I are a team… and we help each other when we feel like we can't go on."

Finn nodded, Rachel was right and it was time that he started trying to rebuild the bridges that were now piles of ash. He only hoped that it wasn't too late. The couple spent the rest of the short flight in silence. Finn leaned his head back against the seat as Rachel held his hand and rested her head against his shoulder. He draped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. It shocked him at how easily having her with him right now made him feel less of a nervous wreck. His mind was moving 100mph at the thought of how his mom would look when he reached the hospital. He didn't want to see her in pain, he knew that it would be nearly impossible to hold himself together, but as long as he had Rachel he would be able to make it through this or anything else that came his way.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They quickly picked up their rental car and went to check into their hotel once they arrived in Lima. Once their luggage was put away into their room, Rachel used the restroom to check her make up before walking out to see Finn sitting in the chair, staring into thin air. Her heart broke at the fact that she knew Finn was scared to death about his mother. She walked over and sat on his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck. "Hey you." She said softly, her hand rubbing against his cheek gently. Finn looked up at her, offering a weak smile and it really was the best one he could give at this point. "Hey. You ready to go? I want to stop at the flower shop by the hospital to pick up some tulips. They are my moms favorite." Finn said and Rachel nodded.

They drove down the street and Rachel smiled to herself, thinking about how much closer she felt to Finn by being in his home town. Knowing that he used to drive these streets as a teenager, happy and young. The thought made her wish she would have known him back then. Back before he build the insanely thick walls around his heart. "This is the shop. Did you want to go inside or wait here?" He asked, putting the car in park.

"I'll wait here, I need to call Santana and let her know we made it." She said and Finn nodded before hurrying into the shop. She pulled out her phone and dialed her best friend's number.

"Go for Santana." The Latina said into the phone.

"Santana, hey. I just wanted to let you know that we made it to Ohio. We are at the flower shop now, he's getting some flowers for his mom then we are going to the hospital. I'm so nervous San. I don't want to see Finn fall apart this way, and I know that there is nothing I can do to protect him from being hurt."

"Rachel, just you being there is going to help him. I uh, well Puck wanted me to drive out with him this weekend. Apparently your man's mom is like Pucks second mother, so as soon as Finn called and told him about what was going on, he made arrangements to take a few days off. And since I have a 3 day weekend, he asked me to go with." Santana said and Rachel smiled.

"That's great news. I will be so glad to have you here. Let me know when you guys are on the road. Oh, Finn's coming. I'll text you later. Bye San." Rachel hung up just as Finn climbed into the car, a dozen white tulips inside of a beautiful pink vase.

"These are stunning babe. Your mom is going to love them."

The couple walked hand in hand down the long hallway of Lima Memorial Hospital and Rachel felt the grip of Finn's hand tighten. Finn asked the woman at the desk to give him the information for his mother's room and they began to walk. Rachel noticed how his pace had dramatically slowed as they got closer to the room his mother was in. Outside of the door, Finn stood frozen in place. He wanted to go in and wrap his arms around his mother and tell her how much he has missed her and begged her to pull through this so he could fix their broken relationship and do everything he could to make up for the last two years, but he knew that he didn't have that kind of power.

"You just have to open the door.. take the first step babe. I'll wait out here for you. If you need me I'll—" Rachel began but Finn stopped her, shaking his head.

"No. I mean, please go in with me. I don't know what is going on, but I know that I cannot do this without you. And I want her to meet you. Say you will go with me.. Please?" He said, begging almost like a small child. Rachel stepped forward, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'll do anything you need me to do. That's why I'm here babe. And I know you would do the same for me. So.. let's go inside. The first step is the hardest part." She said, and he nodded, knowing she was right.

Finn let out a deep breath and after looking at Rachel one last time, he took her by the hand and pressed the door open slowly. Inside the room was rather dark, the television was on, but no sound. Carole was sound asleep on her bed, and Finn couldn't take his eyes off of her until he felt Rachel take the flowers from him to place on the table with the others. Several bouquet's as well as small stuffed animals and balloons covered the table and window seal.

Finn pulled the chair up to the side of his mother's bed and Rachel stood behind him, her hands on his shoulders while he reached for his mother's hand. "Mom… I'm here mom." Finn said, not knowing if she could hear him or not. When she opened her eyes, Finn's breath caught in his throat and his mother's eyes quickly filled with tears. "Mom. I'm right there. I'm here."

"Finny? Oh my God. You're really here? I'm not dreaming?" Carole said, letting her tears spill out, not caring one bit. "Oh I missed you so much." She said, pulling her son's arm so he would stand and he leaned over to hug her.

"I'm here now mom. I'm so, so sorry. I am so sorry for—" He began to cry and the sight broke both Carole and Rachel's heart. "No Finn. Do not apologize. This wasn't your fault. I do not blame you, your brother doesn't blame you, nobody does because it WAS…NOT…YOUR…FAULT." She said, stressing the last 4 words hoping that he would really hear them. Finn shook his head, as if he didn't agree with her so she continued.

"Losing your father when you were 4 was one of the worst pains I have ever felt. And then when I lost Burt I thought that I had finally felt what the greatest pain could possibly be, but although I loved them both dearly, neither of my losses hurt as bad as it did to know that you were alive and didn't want to see me."

Rachel stood there silent. She had just learned more about her boyfriend in 3 minutes time than she had in their entire relationship. He had a brother… he lost his biological father at a young age, and then his step father raised him only to lose him as well. He had experienced loss multiple times and Rachel couldn't imagine how that felt. She was lucky enough to have both of her parents alive and healthy.

Finn leaned over, his head resting against her stomach and she gently combed through his hair. He stayed like that for a few minutes, and although he was silent Rachel could tell he was crying by the way his shoulders shook. He sat up, violently wiping away his tears before turning to face Rachel and then back to his mom.

"Mom, I want you to meet someone." Finn began. He stood up, reaching for Rachel and pulling his arm around her waist. "Mom, this is my girlfriend Rachel. Rachel this is my mother Carole."

Carole's smile beamed. She had seen pictures of the couple in some tabloid magazines and knew by the serious look in her son's eyes that he was crazy about her, but now… seeing them together and the way Finn watched her made Carole's heart smile. Yes, her heart was smiling because she had worried for so long that her son wouldn't let someone in and be lonely. But here and now she could see that wasn't the case.

"It is such a pleasure to meet you. My goodness, she's beautiful Finn." Carole said as Finn tightened his arms around Rachel's waist, pulling her impossibly closer to his body.

"Thank you. It is very nice to meet you as well." Rachel said, offering a smile. Finn's mother seemed o be so very sweet and she wanted nothing more than to get to know her better.

The couple spent the rest of the day, well until the nurse kicked them out due to the fact that visiting hours had been over, visiting with Finn's mother. They laughed, and Carole asked tons and tons of questions about their relationship. She didn't miss the way the pair would give each other sweet glances and Finn would run his hand across the back of Rachel's neck. It was clear that her son loved this girl, and that made her happier than she could describe. She knew that if God decided to take her from this world tomorrow, her baby boy would have someone on this earth that loved him more than anything else.

"Finn?" His mom asked, her voice weak. "Will you come back and see me again? Please? I can't handle you leaving and never seein—" She began to cry at the thought of him leaving and disappearing again like he had the past two years.

"Mom. Shh, no no, I'm not leaving you again. I'm right here. I'm sorry, I know how hard his all must have been for you but I'm her now. I am not leaving you." He said, repeating himself so he would know she understood him. She nodded her understand before Finn continued. "We will be back in the morning mom. Just try to get some rest. For me?"

Carole agreed and told Rachel again how nice it was too have met her and asked her to please join Finn the next day at the hospital which she agreed to of course. Then the couple left, walking out with their hands joined together the same way they walked in. Once they stood outside, Finn walked towards the car and reached for the door handle to open it for his girlfriend.

He waited for Rachel to get in, but instead she reached her arms up, wrapping them around his neck and pulled him down for a soft, deep kiss. When they pulled apart Finn asked, "What was that for?"

"I am so proud of you for today. I know you have your reasons for being so guarded, but I saw you put everything aside and push though it because of the love you have for your mom. And it made me love you that much more."

"I know we have things to talk about, regarding everything you heard from my mom I know you have questions now… but can we please talk about them tomorrow? Right now I just want to go lay down with you and just… just be alone with you." He said, his forehead pressing against hers.

"I'm in no rush to ask any questions Finn. I told you before… I'm here for the long haul. It will take a while to get into the thick of it when it comes to your past, but I'm in this. I will stand by your side through it all." She kissed him once more and then climbed into the car before he shut the door.

Finn thought to himself about how great it felt to see his mom, and that Rachel was here and able to meet her. He also thought of how Rachel had changed him. He though the was destined to be alone, to spend his life with nothing more than one night stands. He was afraid to let himself feel things, but here this tiny 5'2 brunette came in and has slowly began to tear each and every wall down. One by one. He smiled, shaking his head at the thoughts. He knew he was incredibly lucky, he just wanted to make sure he never made her feel as if she weren't a priority. He had done that to his mother the past two years and he made a silent vow that starting right here and right now… things were going to start changing.


	9. Chapter 9

Cold As Ice - Chapter 9

"I want to hear about you guys. All this talk about dying and sickness is making me really depressed." Carole said as she, Finn and Rachel talked in her room.

"What do you want to know?" Finn asked.

"Well there is so much I want to know but first I want to hear how the two of you met. And don't leave anything out." Carole said and Finn and Rachel smiled at one another. Finn nodded, telling Rachel to explain as he stood up to answer his phone.

Rachel smiled to herself at the memory of the first time she laid eyes on Finn Hudson. "Well, I had went for my morning job and I always cut rhough this small park that is close to my apartment. I tripped over a branch in the joggers path and twisted my ankle. It was pretty bad, and had swollen instantly. I couldn't put pressure on it to save my life." Rachel began and Carole smiled. She could see it all happening in her mind and watching Rachel act out the events of that day made it feel like she were watching a movie.

"And then I pretty much called him my boyfrined. Later that night Finn asked me to make it official and we have been together ever since." She finished explaining and Carole couldn't help but feel like some of the worry she had been carrying around for her son semi disappear.

"That sounds like a beautiful story. Just think of how romantic it will be to tell your grandkids someday." Rachel looked over to an oblivious Finn and thought for a second about how incredible it would be if she and Finn ended up getting married, having little babies and one day grandkids to tell their love story to. "I want to say thank you Rachel." carole added and Rachel looked at her confused.

"What are you thanking me for?" She asked.

Carole smiled at Finn when she noticed the way he stared at her. Although he was on the phone his eyes seemed to subconciously drift to Rachel and Carole didn't miss it. "For showing my son how to live again. How it feels to have someone love you the way he deserves. Especially after the way Marley broke his heart. I worried that he wouldn't bounce back from taht relationship. I spent many nights on the phone with him, trying to talk him out of his impending depression."

this was the first time Rachel had ever heard the name Marley, or about Finn getting his heart broken. Carole didn't miss the look on Rachel's face and quickly felt guilty.

"You didn't know about her... did you?" Carole asked.

We haven't talked about our ex's. Well we haven't talked about much other than what happened wiith his step dad. And that was in the airplane on our way here that I barely learned that much." Rachel couldn't hide the fact that it hurt her that Finn had yet to open up to her. She had promised not to push him, but she wanted him to let her in. She knew that if this hadn't happened with his mom, she probably wouldn't know what she knew now.

Carole started to say something, but a sharp pain ripped through her and she doubled over, clutching at her blankets. Finn was walking on the phone when he saw her out of the corner of his eye and hung up while Blaine was stll talking, and was by his moms side in a split second.

"Call the nurse." He told rachel and she pressed the call button to alert the nurse that they needed help.

"Mom? Mom what is wrong? Please just tell me what is going on. I need to know." Finn begged.

Carole stayed silent and soon the nurse as well as the doctor were at her side. Rachel squeezed Finn's hand as they stood back against the wall, watching as they checked his mother out. "Mrs. Hummel, do you have any pain here?" the doctor asked, presssing against her lower back. Carole nodded, and Finn didn't miss the tears she had running down her cheeks.

"Help her! She is in pain, somebody do something!" Finn yelled. Rachel pulled him against her, trying to keep him back so the staff could do their jobs. They had to hook her up to an oxygen machine and administer medication through her IV so the nurse turned to both Finn and Rachel and said, "Why don't you both go wait in the waiting room? She is going to need to rest for a bit and I will have the doctor come out and talk to you. Your mom filled out the paperwork last night, making it possible for us to speak to you about anything regarding her health. I am sure you have many questions, and we will answer them all." She said softly, and Rachel looked at Finn when he didn't respond. It broke her heart to see him stare at his mom the way he was right now. The pain that was written across his face made her heart shatter.

"Finn, baby. Let's go to the waiting room. We can talk to the doctor and find out what we can do to help. Ok?" Rachel said, squeezing his hand and he finally turned to look at her. He didn't say a word, instead he just followed as Rachel led him out of the room. He stopped just before they walked out and turned to head back towards his mother's bed. He leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I love you mom. We are going to get you better and then I am taking you home." He whispered and then walked out with Rachel.

In the waiting room Finn paced back and forth the floor so much that Rachel swore he was going to wear a hole in the floor. Finally the doctor that had been in his mother's room came walking towards them. "Mr. Hudson? Let's sit." he said, gesturing for Finn to have a seat across from him. Once they were all sitting the doctor looked at FInn as Finn spoke.

"I need to know what is wrong with her. I can't stand this not knowing. She won't tell me, and I need to know what is wrong so I can help her." He said really quickly. The doctor nodded.

"Mr. Hudson, your mother has been diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer. We have looked into any options that are possible and with the extent of the cancer, the only way that she can beat this is if she had a double kidney replacement. While this sounds simple enough, it really isn't. We put her on the UNOS list in hopes of finding a donor that is a match, but so far nothing has come up." The doctor said and Rachel saw the way the color from Finn's face drained to a pale white.

"She's dying?" He said, and he wasn't sure if he was stating that or asking it. The doctor nodded once again and Finn stood up, "Test me. Check me and see if I am a match. What do I need to do? You need blood? Name it!" he said and Rachel could tell that he was panicking.

"Mr. Hudson, we are more than happy to test you to see if you indeed are a match, but there is still another problem at hand." Finn looked at him through squinted eyes. He wondered what else could possibly go wrong in this fucked up situation. When Finn didn't say anything, the doctor continued. "Your mother needs a DOUBLE replacement. So that means that even if you are a match, we will still need another kidney in order to do the surgery. And you cannot donate both of your kidneys." Finn sat down, feeling defeated. He looked at Rachel and then back to the doctor.

"Test me anyway. One kidney will be easier to find than two. So where do I go?" Finn asked. Just then he saw Puck and Santana come walking into the hospital. They came to a stop next to Rachel and Finn, remaining silent as they saw the doctor talking.

"I will have the nurse take you down to get tested. If you are a match we can start you on some medication incase we do the transplant." The doctor stood and Finn followed him.

Puck looked at Finn and saw the way his best friend looked broken. He turned towards Rachel and asked, "Where is Finn going? What's going on?"

Rachel filled them in on the situation and before she could completely finish Puck yelled out towards a retreating Finn. "Finn! Wait up." Finn stopped walking, preparing himself to tell Puck that he couldn't talk now but when Puck spoke his words took Finn's breath away.

"Sign me up for this test. If my kidney is a match for Mama Carole then consider it hers." Puck said and Finn knew he was being 100% honest.

"Puck.. are you sure man? This is a serious surgery and you-" Puck put his hand on Finn's shoulder, stopping him mid sentence.

"Finn. You are my brother, and Carole is like my mother. If there's a chance I can help her then there is no way I'm not going to do it. So come on, let's go see if they are going to slice and dice us." Puck said and Finn didn't care who saw or what they thought when he grabbed his best friend and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. "Thank you." He said softly and Puck just nodded, hugging him back.

Hours had passed and Rachel, Finn, Puck and Santana sat quietly in the waiting room for the doctor to come tell them if they would be able to save Carole.

"Babe, come sit down, you're exhausted and you need to rest. Please." Rachel said, trying to get her boyfriend to sit calmly for a moment, but knowing that her words were wasted considering the fact that she knew he wouldn't sit down in a million years until he knew the answers from the tests.

"Has he been like this since you guys got here?" Santana whispered where only Rachel could hear.

Rachel shook her head, "We had a really nice day yesterday. His mom was feeling pretty good, having a good day I suppose and we enjoyed out visit. Today though has been a totally different story. He's worrying himself sick." rachel said, her worried eyes locked on Finn.

"I feel so bad for him. I really hope that he and Puck are a match." Santana said just as Finn and Puck jumped up, seeing the doctor walking towards them. Rachel had a gut feeling that they were fixing to recieve bad news, just by the way the doctor's shoulders were slumped down and his expression cold.

"What's the word doc?" Puck asked, seeing that Finn wasn't able to even find his voice due to nerves.

"Unfortunately you both were not a match. One of you is an exact match but the other was not." The doctor said and Finn spoke.

"Ok, let's get me prepped. I want her to have my kidney as quicly as possible while we wait for the other one to come. It will come, I know it will." Finn said, rambling on with a shaky voice.

"Mr. Hudson, you were not a match. I'm so sorry. Mr. Puckerman was fortunately. So if he is willing to do the surgery, we have several forms that need to be filled out and not to mention that this surgery is very expensive... I'm not sure-" The doctor began and a raging Finn cut in.

"Do you know who I am, sir? Do you?" Finn said, being much more forceful than Rachel nor Santana had ever seen. Rachel had walked towards him during this time and reached for him but he pulled his arm away.

"Uh, yes sir. I know who you are. You are a very-"

"If you know who I am, then you know that money and prices of this surgery are irrelevent. Schedule the surgery for as quickly as possible." Finn said and then he started to walk towards the double doors of the hospital that led outside.

"Finn? Where are you going?" Rachel said, trying to catch up to him. But he just walked faster, pushing the door open violently. Rachel started to run after him, but Puck grabbed her arm.

"Let him go Rach. He needs this right now. Just let him go." Puck said and Rachel's heart sank. "Rachel, it is nothing personal. This is about him not being a match. He wanted to save her and be her own personal superhero or something. And more than anything, he is upset that they still need another donor."

Rachel let everything sink in. She wanted to just break down and cry but she couldn't do that. Instead she told Santana and Puck that she would be back shortly before heading towards her destination. Both her friends tried to find out where she was headed, but this was something she had to do alone. She didn't need anyone to ask her any questions, and the last the she wanted was for Finn to find out before she had definate answers for him.

Two hours later Racel sat in the waiting room, her head resting against the wall and her legs pulled up into the chair. One of the nurses had brought her a small blanket with a pillow and she didn't take long to fall alseep. She woke up when she heard Finn's voice softly next to her. "Babe?" He said, brushin his hand against her face. She moved her face into his hand, smliing at the touch. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled, happy to see tha that he was back.

She sat up in her chair, and looked around. "What time is it? I'm so glad you are back." Rachel said with a yawn..

"It's a little after 7pm. Santana and Puck just left to go get settled at my moms place for the night. They asked us to stay there tonight too, but I told them we would let them know. I just think it would be nice to be home, the place I grew up... but more importantly he I want to be there around my moms stuff... I would like to get some things done around the house for her for when she comes home." He said and Rachel didn't miss how he had refused to think that there was a chance his mom wouldn't be going home.

"That sounds great. I'ld love to see the house you grew up in." Rachel said sweetly.

"Well it's not exactly where I grew up, my mom sold our house when she met my step dad and we moved into his house. But it's still home to me, you know? It took several years to begin to feel like that, bt it's true. Now when I picture going "home" it's to that house. And hey, totally off topic here, but has the doctor's said anything about how mom is doing? He asked and Rachel shook her head no. She had new to tell him, but she wanted to wait until the doctors were here. Which is why they were walking toward the couple now.

"Mr. Hudson? Ms. Berry?" the couple nodded and looked back towrds the doctor. "Ok, So after we ran many tests we were able to match the second kidney to Mrs. Hummel. As long as the paperwork gets completed early tomorrow, and the funding is handled, we should be able to have her on the table by tomorrow evening." 

"Wait? Where did you get the second kidney? Did that UNOS list find one?" Finn asked and the doctor looked at Rachel with confusion before he started to speak. "No sir. We have fond someone that is a perfect match here. Which is great and allows for much faster surgery. You can thank Ms. Berry here, if it werne't for her contacting us, we wouldn't be able to operate on your mother so quickly."

Finn sat there, the news completely blowing him away. He had no idea that Rachel had done this, and he had never expected her to get tested. "Rach.. you... you didn't have-" He had tears falling now, reaizing how much this woman must love him if she were willing to go through all of this, giving up one of her kidneys to help someone that was in no way related to her. He knew that she was doing this for him and the realization of this made him want to cry like a little boy.

"Finn. I know I didn't have to do this, but in just the short time I spoke with your mother I learned that she is incredible. She loves you with all she has in her. And I do not want to see a world that doesn't have someone as amazing as your mother in it. I know you would do the same if the tables were turned. So let me help her babe. I told you before, we are in this together and there isn't anything that we can't overcome as a team. So as a team... let's help your mom."

"Thank you Rachel. Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me. I love you."

Rachel leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips, "I love you too Finn. So much."

"Ok, so Ms. Berry, we will need both you and Mr. Puckerman here tomorrow morning by 6am to prep for the surgery. we will have you both under at the same time and the Carole will be taken in shortly behind you both to recieve the transplants. Make sure you get plenty of rest tonight and do not eat or drink anything after midnight." The doctor said, then he stood and shook both Rachel and Finn's hand. "You're an amazingly selfless person for doing this. You will have a special place in heaven, I am certain. No, go get some rest. We should let Carole rest as much today as possible as the surgery will take a lot out of her."

Finn and Rachel thanked him once more before walking into Carole's room and placing a kiss on her forehead before quietly leaving. Finn knew that the next day was going to be emotionally draining. Not only would he worry about his mother, but his girlfriend and best friend were going to have surgery as well. Finn felt so helpless. No matter how much money he had, there was no way to buy his way out of this. He took Rachel's hand into his own and led her out of the hospital towards their rental car. Just outside on the sidewalk a voice called out, "Finn?" And Rachel almost ran into the back of him when he stopped and froze suddenly.

Rachel turned to see who the voice belonged to and cocked her head in question as she saw the light brown haired woman approaching. She was wearing a pair of exercise pants, a black sports bra that showed off her cleavage and very toned stomach. She had a pair of wireless headphones around her neck and she reached to pull them out. "I knew that was you. There's no mistaking a 6'3 Finn Hudson. What are you doing in town? I heard you were raking in the big bucks up in New York. " The woman said, pretending to not even notice Rachel's presence.

"I'm here visiting my mother. And we were just leaving." Finn said, his jaw clenched. It didn't take much to figure out exactly who this woman must be, but Rachel couldn't be certain.

The woman stepped closer to Finn and Rachel felt as if the woman truely couldn't see her. She was virtually invisible, except for the way Finn's hand tightened around hers letting her know she was there. "What do you say we get together tonight and have a drink. Catch up. It's been too long." The girl said, reaching over and placing her hand on Finn's forarm.

Finn spoke up just as Rachel was getting ready to go off. "Marley, I have no interest in having a drink with you tonight or any other night for that matter. I am in a relationship. A very happy and healthy one which is more than I can say for whatever we had, with this woman standing right here that you have yet to acknowledge. So, if you will excuse me, we were just leaving." Finn reached to open Rachel's door and still Marley pressed on.

"Finn-" She tried, but this time Rachel spun around, holding her tongue long enough.

"Look, Marley was it? Finn has already made it clear that he is not interested. So, I suggest you just continue on your run." Rachel said, and she started to get inside the car once more.

"Who do you think you are? You have no right to talk to me like this. I don't even know you." Marley said defensively.

"Well, let me introduce myself. I am Rachel Berry. I am FInn's girlfriend. And funny that you should mention that you don't know me, because I also have no idea who you are. And that is because Finn has NEVER mentioned you before. So that should tell you right there that the lack of discussing you means that he really didn't think you were important enough to even mention in passing. But let me say thank you. Thank you for being such an idiot and letting someone as amazing as Finn go, because I was lucky enough to have him fall in love with me. And I can honestly say that I will never be letting him go. Have a good job, Marcie."

"It's Marley." she said as Rachel sat inside, shooting back, "It doesn't really matter." regarding her name. Finn just laughed and walked around the car and climbed in. He loved that little spit fire side of Rachel. She never stopped amazing him.


	10. Chapter 10

Cold As Ice – Chapter 10

Finn stepped out of the shower and tied the towel around his waist. He had both hands on either side of the sink and looked in the mirror. He felt strange being back in his old house. It was strange because his mom wasn't across the hall and the tv wasn't blaring from some game Burt would be watching. He missed that. Although Puck and Santana were making noise, yelling at the television downstairs, it still wasn't the same.

"Rach, do you want do go pick up something for dinner? Or we could order in." Finn said as he walked into his bedroom.

Rachel didn't respond. She was looking at a photo on the wall of Finn in high school. Several other kids were in the photo as well. She recognized Puck, and the girl she had learned to be Marley, Finn's ex, but the other faces she didn't know.

"That's my brother, Kurt." Finn said, standing behind her and pointing at the photo. He smiled, remembering that day. "That's Arty, Sam, Mercedes, Mike, Tina and Matt. They were all members of the glee club." Finn said and Rachel's jaw dropped.

"I had no idea you were in the glee club. I was too!" Rachel said excitedly. "You totally have to sing for me."

Finn laughed, "We'll see. Maybe some day."

Rachel wrapped her arms around his half naked body, "You look hot right now Mr. Hudson. The towel and muscle look really works for you." She said, wiggling her eyebrows in a flirty manor.

Finn smiled a genuine smile, the first one since the day they received the call about his mom. Rachel enjoyed the look on his face while it lasted. Although Finn's mind was worried about his mom, and the fact that both Rachel and Puck would be going through surgery, his body still reacted to Rachel's touch. He lowered his head, his lips capturing hers. A soft moan fell from her mouth and that only seemed to fuel the fire that was building inside of him. His hands moved to cup her breasts through her t-shirt and he kissed down her neck, hitting the spot he knew drove her wild.

Rachel was the one to pump the breaks, pressing against his chest. "Finn…baby." She tried, but his mouth latched onto her collar bone and she almost threw caution out the window. But somehow she managed to try again. "Finn, we don't have to do this. I know you have a lot on your mind."

"Do you not want to?" I'm sorry I didn't mean to pressure you." Finn said, stepping back feeling as if he had done something wrong.

"God no, of course you aren't pressuring me. I always want you. I just understand if you aren't in the mood with everything that is going on." She said, and he could tell she truly meant it.

Finn reached for her hand, not saying a word and pressed it against himself over the towel. "Does this tell you that I'm not in the mood?" Rachel looked into his eyes and she found no hesitation. She reached for the towel and pulled it off.

Nothing else was said as the two made love, so many emotions being poured into it. The stress and the worry just washing away, even for a short time with every kiss.

Once they were both physically spent, they collapsed beside each other on the bed, trying to catch their breath. Rachel traced patters along Finn's chest as her head lay on his shoulder.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" He asked, running his fingers through her hair.

"No. I'm not. Of course nobody is excited to get operated on, but I know what good will come of this so I am eager to do it. The sooner your mom gets our kidneys, the better."

Finn smiled, kissing the top of her head. "I can never thank you enough for doing this. I love you so much." He said seriously.

"And I love you."

After restring and talking a little more, the two redressed and made their way downstairs to join Puck and Santana in the living room.

"It's about time you too came up for air. We were worried Rachel was going to have an aneurism from all that yelling." Santana said and Puck laughed. Rachel turned her beet red and turned her face to hide in Finn's chest. "You two need to shut up. Let's order some food." Finn said with a laugh.

"Finally, we were starving here." Puck said and reached for the remote to press play on the movie they had been watching and the volume blared through the room.

"Fuck dude, turn that shit down. Are you going deaf?" Finn said, yelling over the tv.

"Well we had to turn the shit up so loud to drown out Rachel's screaming." Then Puck and Santana started moaning and acting out what they heard.

"Oh Finn… yessss!" "Oh yes Rachel, just like that baby." "Ohhhhh" They said, pretending to be the couple.

Rachel covered her mouth with her hands and turned a shade brighter while Finn threw a pillow from the couch and hit Puck before shooting him the finger.

They all sat around the coffee table, cartons of Chinese food covering the surface.

"God that was good. I couldn't eat another bite if my life depended on it." Santana said, leaning back on the couch and puffing out her cheeks.

"Yeah, Finn and I used to eat there after every game. It was our favorite place to go." Puck said and Finn smiled at the memories. It felt like so long ago.

"Well we better get to bed. You guys have a lot going on tomorrow." Fin n said, talking to Puck and Rachel. "And both of you…thank you for doing this." If it weren't for you doing this…If it weren't for the both of you being so selfless I wouldn't have my mom. So if you ever need anything, just say the word."

"Like we said before dude. You and Carole are family. And family helps each other. Right Berry?" Puck said.

Rachel squeezed her boyfriends hand and smiled up at him. "That's absolutely correct."

"Lurch and I will clean this up, you two get up to bed and we will join you in a few." Santana said and Rachel started to protest but the Latina shot her down and soon the two were headed upstairs.

Finn was setting the last of the take out boxes in the trash can when Santana spoke up.

"I have been looking for an opportunity to speak to you alone." She said and Finn cocked his head to the side.

"Oh yeah? What about?"

"Look, It's obvious that Rachel is head over heels in love with you, I mean damn… the girl if giving your mom a kidney. That isn't something you do for just anyone. And while she has a huge heart and would help anyone she could, the fact is that she is doing this for you." She pointed at him and Finn nodded. He knew what the girl was saying was completely true.

"I just want to make sure you know that she loves you more than I have ever seen her love someone. Since the moment she met you, something inside of her came alive and she is genuinely happy. And if you do something to mess that up, I swear with God as my witness something really horrible will happen to you."

Finn laughed, partly because it was funny that this little girl threatened to physically harm him, but almost out of fear. He knew that Santana was dead serious. She and Rachel were best friends, sisters if you will, the same closeness that he had with Puck. So the fact that Santana was watching out for Rachel was expected.

"Well you know… I could say the same when it comes to you and Puck. I have known him my entire life and he has never committed to just one girl before. Not the way he has with you. He's in love with you.. did you know that? He told me the other day. But of course you didn't hear that from me. All I'm saying is, you have a great guy and as long as you are honest and faithful to him, there isn't a thing he wouldn't do for you. So do me a favor and don't break his heart. I'm not sure he could handle it." Finn said and Santana smiled. Puck had told his best friend that he loved her. This was a feeling she hadn't ever felt before, but the thought of Puck saying that excited her.

"Ok so here's the deal. I won't break your best friends heart if you don't break my best friends heart. Deal?" Santana said, extending her hand for him to shake.

"Deal."

Once the 4 friends went their separate ways Finn walked into the bedroom he shared with Rachel just as she was stepping out of the shower. "Hey you. I'm going to just do my skin care and then I'll be in here to join you in bed." Rachel said and Finn nodded with a soft smile.

Finn flipped on the tv while she returned to the restroom. TMZ was on and he blew air out of his cheeks as he started to change the channel. But before he could change it, he saw her. Rachel's photo on the screen. He raised the volume to hear it. "The photo was taken here in Lima, at the hospital." Finn cursed to himself. "These asshole were at the hospital that his mother was dying in. They were relentless."

Then the words, "Rachel Berry rumored to be pregnant with NY business guru, Finn Hudson."

"What the fuck?" He heard Rachel say as she came back into the room after hearing her name. She saw the screen and shook her head. "That's when I was getting blood drawn for the test." Rachel said before adding, "They are trying to say I'm pregnant?" Rachel stood there in disbelief. Partly because the way they were able to get the photos without her seeming them, and the other because of the obvious lie.

"I'll call my PR guy and him handle this. He will submit our official statement to deny this." Finn said, taking this a lot better than Rachel was.

"How can you be so calm about this Finn? It's like you're not even phased by it." Rachel said slightly angry.

"Rach, I told you. They are supposed to make stuff up so they can sell it. You can't let this get to you. I told you that this was part of the down side to being with me. The paparazzi will print anything they can to try and sell copies of magazines or papers." Finn said, walking over to her and hugging her. "I'm so sorry. I don't mean to drag you into this." He genuinely felt bad and worried that it might all become too much for Rachel to handle.

"Finn, tell me about your past. About your company. How did you end up with this life?" She knew she was pushing his limits right now, and she had promised not to pry, but the not knowing was killing her. If she was going to be exposed this way as the price she had to pay to be with Finn Hudson, then she felt she had a right to know everything there was to know about him.

"Rachel…" He said and she knew he was pulling into his shell. She reached up and touched his face. "You can trust me with anything Finn. I'm not going anywhere. I am in this completely."

He walked over to the window, looking out at the street that he once considered his. "I don't know where to start." He said honestly. The thought of talking about these things making him feel the least bit nauseous. He had tried to lock all of this away, but like everything else in his life, Rachel busted through the walls and locks.

"Well, tell me about your birth father. What happened? Rachel asked, slipping one of Finn's t-shirts over her head, sitting on the bed Indian style.

"My father was in the Army. He got stationed in Iraq for two tours. He came home after being gone for 2 years straight. When he came back he was a different person. My mom said he started drinking a lot and he started smacking my mom around. She stuck it out with him, hoping that things would get better once he saw a shrink, and for me… but he didn't. He gave up the fight before it even started. He was like this for two long years. Finn took a deep breath, trying to force himself to continue.

"Babe, I'm sorry I asked. You don't have to keep going." Rachel said.

"No, I want to tell you these things. I want to tell you everything." Rachel simply nodded, letting him go on.

"One day my mom and I came home early from visiting my grandma and picking up my birthday presents. My birthday was that day an I couldn't wait to show my dad the football my grandma had gotten me and uh… we um.."

Rachel gripped his hand tighter. She could see how difficult this was for Finn to discuss.

"He was dead in his recliner. A bottle of jack Daniels in one hand and a gun in the other. He had been like that for over 24 hours the cops said. My mom knew that meant he had done this right after we had left. He took the cowards way out of his problems. I remember that say clearly. Yeah I was only 4 years old, but I still remember how he looked sitting there. He was so pale white and his eyes were puffy as if he had been crying. That was by far the worst birthday of my life." Finn said.

Rachel thought that it was a horrible story, and even more so that each year on his birthday he would remember that day as being the one that his father committed suicide on.

"Oh Finn. I'm so sorry babe. I wish that he would have gotten help. It's such a shame."

Finn nodded, he agreed with her.

"So anyway, when I was 7 my mom met Burt. They dated until I was 9 and then they got engaged and decided to move in together. I was furious at first. I didn't want to give up my house. It was all I had left of my father's memory. I came around eventually and started to get close to my step dad and to my step brother Kurt. We were the same age so we knew each other from school. He is the reason I joined glee. He talked meme into trying out and I was pretty good. I really enjoyed it." He smiled, thinking back to the fun he had in Glee club. The way he felt like he was really good at something.

"My mom and Burt got married and he wanted to adopt me, but I almost had a heart attack when they told me because there was no way I would give up my last dads name. So when he adopted me, we left Hudson as my name but Burt was legally my dad. He was the greatest dad. He took me to football and baseball games. We even went to a few drag races. Kurt and my mom did a lot of shopping while we did that. Kurt came out when he was 16 and told us all he was gay. It wasn't a surprise, I think we always knew."

Rachel couldn't believe Finn was opening up to her like this. She never expected him to honestly. And when he started talking it was as if the flood gates opened.

"He started dating the man he is married to, Blaine Anderson during our senior year. That's when I met Marley." He swallowed hard, the subject obviously hard to discuss. "We dated out entire senior year, seeing each other after school and on weekends. She went to Rushmore High, which was about 20 minutes from Lima. She worked at the mall and that's how we met. My mom was nice to her, of course, but she always told me that she had a gut feeling that something about her seemed fake. Of course I ignored her, since I was 18 and knew everything. My heart thought I was in love, so naturally we continued to date. About 6 months into our relationship she shows up at my house in tears. She told me she had something just found out that she was pregnant. I almost passed out when she told me. We had never done it without a condom but she swore I was the only person she had been with so of course I believed her. I told my mom and everyone at school found out somehow. I was terrified that I was going to be stuck in Lima forever. All my dreams were put on hold and I went to work in my step dads shop to make money to pay for the doctor bills. Her parents didn't know for months so I had the doctor bills coming to my house." Finn stopped for a minute, he was remembering this all as if it were yesterday. His forehead wrinkled as he talked about her and Rachel wished she could take the pain away. She leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"So, you have a child? Do you ever see them?" Rachel asked, feeling nauseous at the thought of Finn having a child with someone else. Sure they had never talked about having kids, they hadn't even talked about marriage must less a family, but in the back of her mind she could see them married with children.

Finn shook his head and Rachel was confused. "Oh my God, did she have an abortion? Or put the baby up for adoption?" Rachel asked.

"She said she couldn't be a mother so young. That she just wasn't ready. She had planned to put the baby up for adoption the second it was born. But the thought of having a part of me….my flesh and blood walking around somewhere in this world and not even knowing I love them made me physically depressed. So one night I broke down and cried to my mom. I told her what Marley planned to do and I told my mom how I felt. She told me that it would be hard, extremely hard to be a father my age and go to school and college, but she said she believed in me that I could do it. That I would be a good father. She and Burt told me they would help me with the baby so I could get my diploma and college degree so I could support him or her. We decided to tell Marley over dinner that night at my house. That's the night that it all blew up in my face." Finn shook his head in disbelief. "I'm still in shock over the whole thing, even 10 years later."

"What do you mean it all blew up in your face?" Rachel asked.

"We told Marley that we understood that she wasn't ready to be a mother, and we knew she would be leaving for the University of California only two months after the baby was due. I told her that I was going to keep our baby."

 _Flashback_

" _Marley, there's something my parents and I want to talk to you about. Now please let me get this all out before you say anything, ok?" He started._

 _Marley nodded. She had no clue what was going on, but she agreed to listen anyway._

" _I talked to my parents and they have agreed to help me, and I want to keep our baby. I just can't imagine not having them in my life. Anytime you want to see them—"_

 _Marley stood up, pushing her chair back angrily, not letting Finn finish his sentence._

" _No! I can't let you keep the baby Finn. If you do I am always going to see them. I can't do that. I can't move on with my life knowing the baby is right here in Lima. I have to put it up for adoption to be able to make a clean break. What part of that do you not understand?" She was practically yelling and Carole started to say something, but Burt squeezed her hand, whispering, "let them sort this out honey."_

" _You can't make this decision for me Marley. Nobody is asking you to be a part of their life. You can go to California like you planned, but just because it's so easy for you to walk away from our baby and pretend this didn't happen, doesn't mean that I have to also. I have just as much say as you do. This is just as much my kid as it is yours. And I'm keeping it." Finn was all but yelling by this point, but what happened next was not something he had been prepared for._

" _No Finn, you don't have as much say as I do…because."_

" _Oh dear God, this can't be happening." Carole said, figuring this out before Finn did._

" _Because you're not the father. You have no legal rights. There! I said it!" She said, Finn left standing speechless._

" _Excuse me, I have to go. Mr. and Mrs. Hummel, thank you for dinner. It was lovely." She turned to walk out and Finn left standing speechless._

" _She turned to walk out and Finn remained frozen in spot until he saw her walking out and then he ran up to catch her just before she got in her car._

" _Marley! Wait!" She froze, waiting for him to lay into her._

" _How long have you known it wasn't mine?" he asked in almost a whisper._

 _She looked down, shame all across her face. "Finn please." She begged, wanting him to stop._

 _He pressed on, needing to know for sure. Needing to hear it._

" _I've known the whole time. I just couldn't hurt you I really do love you Finn. I really do." She reached for his arm and he pulled it away instantly._

" _Who is the father? I want to know who it was that you cheated on me with." He demanded._

 _She didn't want to say, she was afraid of what he might do once he knew. But she owed him the truth. It was the least she could do after everything she had done to him._

" _Jake." She said, and Finn's heart sank. "You cheated on me with my best friends little brother? Wow! He's a fucking freshman. This is low, even from you and that is saying something."_

" _Finn please. I made a mistake. We can work through this. I just don't want to lose you."_

" _You already lost me Marley. I'm officially breaking up with you. Goodbye." Finn said, turning to walk back inside the house. He shut the door to his house as well as to the chapter of his life that revolved around Marley._

 _End of Flashback_

"I'm so sorry babe. I can't imagine how hard that must have been. I hate that you had to go through that. I would never hurt you that way Finn. I hope you know that." Rachel squeezed his hand.

"Can we talk more tomorrow? I want you to rest before your surgery. And I really am not in the mood to go into anything else tonight. If that's ok." Finn said, pulling Rachel to lay next to him.

Rachel hated to hear all the sadness from the man she loved, but she felt his love for her as he talked about his past. She curled up against the man of her dreams, and letting herself fall asleep. Once she was out and lightly snoring, Finn lay there, wide awake and stroking her hair. Rachel said she would never hurt him the way Marley had, and he had no doubts in his mind that she was being honest. Everything about Rachel was pure and true. She was by far the greatest thing to ever happen to Finn. He wanted to tell her more but he had glanced at the alarm clock as realize that they weren't going to get much sleep. He wasn't sure what it was that changed inside of him, but after the beginning of the conversation, he felt like he could open up and tell Rachel everything about him and his life. She made him feel comfortable when certain things were said, by squeezing his hand, or kissing his cheek to let him know that she was there for him every step of the way. Rachel made him feel like the strongest man in the world and he wanted to be the same for her. Yeah, there was no denying that he was so deeply, deeply in love with Rachel Berry and after they return to New York, he planned to do something to show her exactly how much he did.


	11. Chapter 11

Cold As Ice – Chapter 11

A/N: This chapter will move pretty quickly as I want to wrap up their trip to Lima pretty soon and get them back to New York. I have more planned for them back in NY versus Lima. So hold on because this ride is going to be crazy and fast.

"Family for Rachel Berry and Noah Puckerman?" The doctor said as he entered the waiting room. Both Finn and Santana stood.

"Hi. I'm doctor Avery. Both patients came through with flying colors. We were able to remove the healthy kidneys and sent them up to be prepped for Mrs. Hummel's surgery. If you would like to be with your friends, I can take you back to see them."

Finn looked at Santana with sad eyes. He felt like he should be there for both of them when they woke up after all they had done for his mom. Santana could see the pain in his eyes, knowing that he couldn't be in two places at once and decided to spare him.

"You go be with Rachel. I'll sit with Puck. After they both wake up and are ok we can switch. Ok?"

Finn pulled Santana into a hug that she was not expecting. And with her head away from him she smiled. She may pretend to be a real hard ass, but she did like Finn. She liked the way he was with her friend and it made her care about him in return.

"Thank you Santana." Finn said softly.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get used to it. Now go. Check on our girl and I'll go see how big of a douche Noah is on his meds." Santana joked.

They both laughed and agreed to text once it was time to switch.

Finn walked back towards the room and went to the number the doctor had given him. He pushed the door open and saw Rachel. She was lying in the bed, her arms crossed across her chest and was sound asleep. The doctor said that it could take a while for the medication to wear off and for her to wake up, so he pulled up a chair from the corner of the room and sat beside her. He took her hand into his and watched her sleep. She looked so sweet when she was sleeping. He had watched her sleep many times, but not in a creepy way. In an admirable way. She always had her mouth slightly parted and her eyes stayed open just the smallest little bit. He stood up, unable to fight the urge and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She stirred some, but immediately went back to heavy sleep.

He pulled out his phone and decided to check some emails and see how things were going at work with Blaine while Rachel slept.

He scrolled down the list and saw that he had several emails from different business associates as well as a ton from Blaine. He clicked on the first few and saw they were all meeting cancellation notices. Then he saw one from Blaine that caught his attention.

-Mr. Hudson, a reporter from the Daily News came by today. Wanted to ask you questions about the pregnancy with Rachel Berry. I'm not sure what this is about but I told him that I did not have a comment for him at this time. I thought I would give you a heads up so you could talk to the people in PR. Hope all is well with the family. Give Carole my best.

Finn shook his head. These damn reporters were pushing him to his limits. He had always been good about ignoring them and letting their rumors die down on their own, even the one claiming he was gay since he was never seen with women, but this one? This one was dragging Rachel into it and it infuriated him. He could blow off the shit they made up about him, but when you start dragging the woman he loved through the mud that's when Finn Hudson got utterly ticked off.

He typed out a short reply to Blaine before asking him about his brother, and once again it was avoided. This was something that nobody knew. Blaine was married to his estranged brother. When they moved to New York for Kurt to work for Vogue, Blaine needed a job and Finn was quick to offer him one. No matter what happened, he would do anything and everything he could for Kurt. He felt as if he owed him more than he would ever be able to repay for what he did to his father. He knew he had lost the man that felt like his father, but Kurt lost his only living parent. And Finn blamed himself for this. He had tried to see Kurt several times over the past two years, but Kurt would always have some reason or another why he couldn't meet up with him. He swore it was because of work or something of the sort, but Finn knew that it was because Kurt couldn't look at him after what happened.

Finn missed his brother more than he could explain. He wished he could do something, anything to make his brother forgive him, but so far every attempt he had made had ended up with no change. Which is why the next email he saw made his breath catch in his chest.

From: Kurt Hummel-Anderson

Subject: Mom

Finn,  
I know we haven't spoken in quite some time, but I wanted to check in and see how mom was doing. I am sorry that I can't be there, my boss basically told me that if I left, I wouldn't have a job to come back to. I miss you Finn. Call me sometime, we should meet up and talk.

Love Your Brother,

Kurt

Finn couldn't believe what he read. Was this real? Everything seemed to be falling into place. He had met the girl of his dreams, and possibly the one he would end up spending the rest of his life with and be insanely happy, Rachel and Puck turned out to be a match and are saving his mom's life. Now his brother was most likely coming back into his life. He wasn't sure what he believed as far as spiritually, but he knew that something, or someone had been watching over them and he hoped they continued until his mother was out.

-New York-

"Hey babe, I'm home!" Blaine called out into the open loft. He didn't see his husband, so he moved further into it and that when he saw him. Staring at his laptop as if he were a statue. Blaine waved his hand back and forth in front of Kurt's face. "Hello? Earth to Kurt!" He said and suddenly Kurt jumped.

"Oh God, how long have you been there?" Kurt asked.

"About 3 minutes. What were you thinking about? You were somewhere else just now." He said, turning to look at the screen and his eyes scanning it to see that it was an email to Finn. One that had yet to be sent.

"I can't make myself press send. I need to, I want to even, but I just can't do it. I thought I was over this whole grudge I've been holding but now I don't think I am." He said nervously and Blaine sat beside him in the other empty chair.

"Kurt, this feeling you have been carrying around about Finn isn't healthy. You have to know in your heart of hearts that he had no control over what happened that day. It could have been you, or Carole, or me driving him somewhere and the same thing would have happened. Even though we don't like it.. even though it hurts like nothing else in this world, it was his time. And there was nothing or no one that could change that. It was something that was out of our hands. But holding a grudge against your brother isn't the best way to handle this." Kurt shook his head at his husbands words. And then Blaine continued.

"He looks great by the way. He started dating this woman named Rachel Berry and she has seemed to be really good for him. You see, you weren't the only one harboring these feelings inside of you. I saw him come in and out of the office as if his body were on autopilot. He never, NEVER smiled. He blamed himself for the death of Burt, he probably still does. But he didn't just lose his step dad that day, he lost his brother, his mom.. and his friends. He pulled away from everyone except you. You are the only person he tried to connect with these past years but you kept him at arms length. That's no way to live babe. You need to make amends. Because no matter what, your dad wanted you and Finn to have this brotherhood. He wanted it for you and he wanted it for Finn. So you need to take that into consideration. So, I know it's just my opinion, but I say you should send it." Blaine kissed Kurt on the cheek and walked into the bedroom to change and leave Kurt alone with his thoughts.

And that's when he did it. He pressed send and sent the email out in to the world of technology, hoping it would get to his brother and say the words he had been unable to say in person.

-Ohio-

Finn had replied to Kurt's email almost instantly. And just as he had pressed send he saw Rachel begin to stir in the bed. "Rach? Baby? How are you feeling?" Finn said standing up and leaning over to brush her hair away from her face.

"Mmm, I'm ok. A little sore, but I'm good." She said with a raspy voice. "My throat is pretty scratchy." She said.

"Yeah, the nurse said it's because they had to intubate you and it would make it a little sore for a couple of days. But nothing to worry about." He assured her.

She reached over and took his hand. He lifted it and kissed the back of it with a smile. "My mom is in surgery now. She is getting the kidneys as we speak. Thank you so much baby. For saving my mom—"

"Finn. I already told you. Stop thanking me."

"It's more than that Rach. No only did you save my mom, you save me…." He began and she was confused.

"You saved me from a life that I wasn't even living. I had stopped caring about anything other than work years ago. You are like a beacon of light, shining at me and showing me where to go. You did so much more than just saving my mom's life. You let me keep her. I love you so much more than I ever thought I could love someone. You gave me my life back, and I can't imagine sharing it with anyone else." Finn said, his face red as he fought back the urge to cry.

Rachel's heart pounded in her chest. The words Finn spoke made her feel so special and she knew that she loved him just as much if not more. She wouldn't go back and change a thing, other than maybe finding him sooner so she could love him longer.

"I love you too." Rachel said, but their moment was interrupted when the nurse entered the room. "You're awake. Let me check your incision and then I'll give you something to help keep you comfortable." The woman said, busying herself with the computer in the corner of the room. "Rachel, on a scale of 1-10 with one being the least pain you could possibly have and 10 being excruciating, what would you rate your pain level?"

Rachel repositioned herself and said, "A 3. That's about it. I'm just sore." She said honestly.

The nurse did the usual routine of administering medication and helping Rachel sit up comfortably before leaving the room. A knock on the door made both she and Finn turn. "Hey Berry. I came to see how you were feeling?" Santana said stepping inside.

"I'm ok. How's Puck?" Rachel asked.

"He's doing good. He swears he could walk out of here right now if they would just let him. He's asking for you though." He said, pointing towards Finn.

Finn looked at Rachel, not wanting to leave her but knowing he should go see his best friend.

"Go babe. I'll be fine with Santana. Go check on Puck." Rachel said, and Finn nodded, leaning over and placing a quick kiss on her lips.

"I'll be back soon ok?"

"Ok."

And then he was gone. Santana took the seat that Finn previously occupied and smiled.

"How are you really feeling?" She asked, thinking Rachel may be holding back on the truth to avoid making Finn feel bad.

"I feel ok really. The nurse gave me something to help ease the uncomfortableness and I've been good."

"You really are a better person than I am. I mean you gave away one of your kidneys for a woman that you just met a couple of days ago. I can't say I would do the same thing. Besides… I am confused as to why you both had to give up a kidney when someone can live with just one and be fine."

"Well, Finn asked that question actually. But with Carole's history, they felt that if her body started to reject one of the kidneys then hopefully it would accept the other. They didn't think she would be strong enough to go through this surgery twice. Which is why she needed two and here we are."

Santana nodded. "Makes sense. So, how long are you and Lurch going to be staying in Ohio?"

"Well I'm not sure. I mean I know his mom is going to take a bit longer to heal than I will, they said I could go home tomorrow, but she won't be able to for several days. Finn wants to stay and set up a home nurse to help his mom out for a while, let her get back on her feet. So I'm sure we will be around for a while. Why? You miss me already?" Rachel played.

"Not a chance. It's been nice having the whole place to myself." Santana said trying to pretend she didn't care.

"Yeah right, you miss me. Admit it."

"Maybe I wish you were around a little more, but that's all. Whatever."

"Well I'll be home soon and we can have a Grey's Anatomy Marathon! I am in serious need of my Grey's fix. And some girl time." Rachel said and Santana nodded with a smile.

The rest of the day was spent with Santana and Finn taking turns in their two patients rooms. Once Finn's mom was out of surgery he spent the rest of the evening with her. Once the nurse guaranteed him that she would be sleeping the rest of the night due to the medication they had given her he made his way down to Rachel's room. When he walked in she was laying there, the tv on but the sound almost to low to hear.

"Hey you." She said as the 6'3 man appeared in her doorway. He leaned against it, just staring at her. "Why are you standing way over there?"

"What would you say about living together when we get back to New York?" Finn said, and he couldn't believe it himself that he had said that. The words just seemed to come running out all on their own.

"What?" Rachel asked, completely blown away by his question.

Finn walked towards her, sitting sideways on the side of her bed, reaching for her hand and holding it close to him.

"Rachel. I love you. And you love me. We spend every night together anyway and one of us is always having to haul a bag with clothes around. We are never apart, and I love that. I just think that it makes more sense to live in the same place. I want to come home to you every day. I want to wake up to you every morning and fall asleep with you every night. I want to look on my "insanely organized shelves" you put it and find your style magazines or sheet music mixed in with my stuff. I want your make up strung across the restroom counter like it is when you stay over a few days. I want it all. With you. So, Rachel…. Move in with me." He said, his breath catching in his chest as he waited for her answer.

Rachel had tears running down her cheeks and wasn't sure when they had gotten there. She smiled and nodded. "I would love to move in with you. I love you so much." She said, and Finn quickly took her face into his hands and kissed her excitedly. "I love you too. And you have no idea how happy this makes me." He said and he meant every word.

"Excuse me. Mr. Hudson? Visiting hours are over, so we are going to have to ask you to leave. You can come back at 7am." The nurse said and Finn's shoulders fell. He hated the thought of leaving Rachel, but since he wasn't "family" he couldn't stay with her over night.

"I don't want to leave you." He said, resting his forehead against hers.

"I know, but you will be back before you know it and you get to break me out of here." She said smiling bright.

"I'll be here right at 7. You call me or text me if you need ANYTHING, ok?" Finn said, standing up.

"I will. Goodnight baby." She said before giving him one last kiss and watching him reluctantly leave.

Finn walked into his old house and looked around. He hung his jacket on the hook by the door and tossed his keys down. Walking into the kitchen he opened the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. Tossing the cap on the counter he heard the front door open and shut before Santana made an appearance in the kitchen.

"So Puck said we have to get him out the minute he is released or he is going to go postal on the staff. He doesn't do well when confined to a bed." Santana said with a laugh.

"Yeah, he got hurt playing football one year and was in a leg cast. I walked in on him one day as he had a kitchen steak knife trying to saw the sucker off. It was hilarious." Finn said laughing.

"I believe it."

"Hey I'm going to go up and shower, then we can order something to eat if you want?" Finn said as he walked out of the kitchen and stopped.

"Sounds good. Just not Chinese. I think I ate enough of that the other night to last me a lifetime." She said an Finn nodded, they had pigged out on that stuff.

"We can order a pizza if you want. The number is on the wall over there by the phone. I'll pay when I get back downstairs."

Santana nodded. Once Finn disappeared she ordered the pizza and pulled a beer from the fridge like Finn had. She sat there looking around, thinking that this is the house of Rachel's future mother in law. She knows Rachel hadn't mentioned marrying Finn, but Santana knew that it would happen one day. And honestly she couldn't be happier for her friend. She had found the perfect life. Santana only hoped that one day she too would find it.


	12. Chapter 12

Cold As Ice – Chapter 12

Carole ended up staying in the hospital for observation for two weeks. Rachel and Puck had been discharged the day after their surgery, but Carole's condition was more intense so her body was taking longer to heal.

Puck and Santana had to return to New York for work while Rachel and Finn remained in Lima. They spent their time during the day at the hospital until visiting hours were over and returned to Carole's house where they cleaned and did odd jobs around the house. Rachel had hired a nurse that would live in the home with Carole for the next 3 months to help her get back on her feet, and although Carole protested at first, she eventually surrendered once she realized how important is was to her son.

When the couple returned to NY, Finn was buried with work and much to his dismay he didn't get much time with Rachel. They had told their friends about their decision to live together and it worked out pretty perfectly because they found out that Puck and Santana had been thinking of living together as well. The only problem was that Finn had been so busy at work that when Rachel left the office at 5pm, he had to stay until sometimes 9 or later. They hadn't had any time to move her things into his apartment and Finn was starting to grow impatient. He buzzed Blaine and he appeared in the office shortly after.

"What can I do for you sir?" Blaine asked and Finn offered a smile.

"How is Kurt? I received his email." Finn said, and Blaine was shocked that this had come up. They had kept their relationship strictly work related and the fact that they were brother in laws had never been revealed at work. The only one knowing their true relationship was Rachel, but she knew not to say anything.

"He is doing good. He is planning to go see Carole next week, check in with her and all that. He is looking forward to your dinner next weekend. I'm glad you though of it. He's nervous, but it will work out. I for one am very happy about the reunion of you two brothers."

"I am as well. Ok, so I called you in here because I need you to make some calls for me. Rachel and I have been so busy since getting back to work and we have yet to find the time to move her things. I need you to find a mover that is trustworthy and reliable. You know how I am, I don't let just anyone come into my home. And I want this done as quickly as possible." Blain nodded and closed the door behind him as he exited Finn's office.

Just before 5pm there was a soft knock on the door, Finn didn't look up from his paperwork as he said, "come in". He didn't see that it was his girlfriend who had came in and she walked around his desk, her hands sliding up his shoulders and hugged him around his neck. Her perfume invading his senses and making his body instantly react. "You are working far too hard Mr. Hudson. What do you say that tonight we get out of here early. I have something at home that I bought yesterday that I want to show you." She said and Finn's jaw dropped.

"Is it something you wear?" He asked, searching for a hint.

"It's something for me to wear and for you to enjoy before you rip it off." She said in a sexy tone.

Finn let out a deep breath, he knew he had a million things to do at work but the thought of Rachel wearing some sexy lingerie and him having his way with her made the decision easy.

"Ready when you are." He said, standing and sipping on his jacket that was sitting on the back of his desk chair. He reached for Rachel's hand but she started to pull away.

"Nah Uh Mr. Hudson, we are still at work." She played.

"Not technically. Look." He said, pointing towards the clock on the wall that read 5:02. "We are no longer on the clock." He told her before reaching down and lacing their fingers together.

"You're such a goof ball." She said before leaning her head against his arm and he released her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulder. "Let's go home."

"You have no idea how much I cannot wait until that phrase is true. When we can both go home to the same place. Hopefully we can get my things moved soon." Rachel said, but Finn just smiled leaving out the part about hiring movers. He wanted to surprise her and he hoped that it wouldn't blow up in his face.

"We will make it happen soon enough babe. Soon enough."

Laying in Finn's bed, trying to catch her breath, Rachel looked around. It was just after 6:30 and the sun was beginning to set.

"that was incredible. The way you turned around like that was new…but I liked it." Finn said, kissing her shoulder.

"I think it's impossible for that to be bad with us." Rachel said with a laugh.

"What can I say, we are just two puzzle pieces that were meant to be put together and fit perfectly."

There was a knock on the door and Finn looked up. "Were you expecting someone?" Rachel asked curiously.

"No, my mistress only comes on Tuesday nights." Finn played and Rachel slapped his arm.

"Keep it up and you'll need her 7 nights a week because all of this" she moved her hand up and down her body, "Will be off limits to you!"

The knock on the door continued as Finn slipped on some boxers and a t-shirt. "COMING!" He yelled out.

He pulled open the door and there stood a man holding a manila envelope. "Mr. Hudson?" The man asked.

"That's me. Who are you?" Finn asked, never having seen this man before.

"My name is Colton Bryan. I am a private investigator. While I cannot disclose who hired me, I can tell you that I was hired to follow your girlfriend, Rachel Berry." Finn's jaw clenched at the man's words.

"Why?" Was all he could say, anger taking over.

"These are for you." He said, handing the envelope to Finn and then he left. Finn stood there, not sure what could possibly be in the envelope. He closed the door and walked over to the kitchen counter and sat the envelope down.

Rachel appeared in the kitchen about the time Finn did and asked, "Who was at the door babe?"

"You'll never believe this." Finn said. "Someone hired a PI to follow you around. The man wouldn't tell me who, but he gave me this." He held up the envelope.

"That's so strange. What's in it?" Rachel asked, coming to sit next to her boyfriend.

"I don't know. Let's open it together." He said. He reached inside the envelope and quickly saw they were photos. The first couple were of Rachel being dropped off at her apartment by Finn's driver, and the next few made Finn want to puke.

"Rachel…. What is this?" He said, flipping through them quicker than before as his anger intensified.

Jesse had been at Rachel's apartment and the photos showed them talking outside the door. Then the last one was of Jesse pressed up against Rachel, lips on hers.

Rachel didn't respond, she just stared at the photo, unable to believe this was happening.

Rachel! What the hell is this? Finn said, raising his voice as he tossed the photos down for her to see.

"Finn..I… I can explain."

"You can explain why your ex boyfriend was at your apartment, or you can explain why your kissing him? How about explaining why I'm finding this out from a complete fucking stranger instead of from my girlfriend."

Rachel tried again. "Finn, it's not what you think—"

"No. I can see just fine. I see that he kissed you and you didn't have enough respect for me to tell me about it. Are you seeing him? Are you really cheating on me? Tell me the truth Rachel, I deserve that much from you."

"No! Finn I would never—"

"I think you should leave. I can't even look at you right now. Please… just leave." He said before walking into his den and shutting the door behind him.

Rachel wanted to chase him. To beg him to talk to her, but she knew she messed up by not telling him about Jesse showing up. Finn was the type to go into a shell when he was upset, so going in there now would do no good for either of them. Instead she gathered her discarded clothes and left his apartment.

Once Finn heard the door close he walked out and looked around his silent apartment. The photos sat on the counter and he couldn't stand the sight of them. He scooped them up and threw them in the garbage. The photo of Jesse kissing Rachel burned into his memory as he poured a glass of brandy.

He sipped his drink and walked into his bedroom. He looked around at the place that an hour ago felt like heaven. The room smelled like Rachel's perfume and he couldn't stand it. He walked out and shut the door behind him. Once he finished his drink he pulled the blanket from the back of the recliner and laid down on the couch. He stretched out and let sleep take over.

Rachel had walked into her apartment where Santana and Puck sat watching tv. "Hey Berry. What brings you home?" Puck asked, but didn't receive an answer. Instead she went into her room and shut the door.

"What was that about?" Puck asked. "I'll go check on her." Santana said.

She knocked on the door, but Rachel ignored her. Knocking again she said, "Come on Rachel, open the door. What happened?"

Rachel finally opened the door and cried hysterically in her best friends arms. When she finished Santana said, "I know you don't want to hear this, but what you did is fucked up. I know you said that he tried kissing you and you pushed him away, but all that is fine. Where you messed up and where I agree with Finn is you should have told him. You could have avoided this whole situation."

Rachel knew her friend was right. She had messed up royally and she prayed that Finn would forgive her. She picked up her phone and called Finn's cell but after only one ring it went straight to voicemail.

"Finn it's me…I know you're upset and you have every right to be, but I am begging you to forgive me. Nothing happened. I'll explain everything and anything to you that you want.. just please, PLEASE don't give up on us. I'll be waiting to hear from you. I love you Finn… don't you ever forget that." And then she hung up.

Rachel cried herself to sleep, hoping that her phone would ring but it never did. The following day she got up and ready for work. She hoped that she would be able to catch Finn alone at some point to talk, but once Blaine informed everyone that Finn would be out of town on an unscheduled business trip, Rachel began to lose all hope. S he had called him numerous times, texts all going unanswered.

The next few days passed in a teary blur. The photos that the P.I. had taken were somehow leaked to the media and Rachel had been labeled a cheater. She felt like anything and everything that could possibly go wrong was.

She text Finn late on the 4th night and put her phone away, not expecting a reply. But just as she lay down in her bed, her phone buzzed to let her know that she had a new text message. She jumped out of bed and ran across her room. Her breath caught when she saw Finns name.

-I will be back in NY tomorrow evening. We need to talk.

That was all it said and it terrified Rachel. Was he telling her this to break up with her? That whatever they had was over? The thought alone made her feel sick. So she replied.

-If you want to meet with me just to break up with me, then please spare me and do it this way.

Rachel wait impatiently, hoping that the next text wouldn't break her.

BUZZ

-This hasn't been easy on me either. But I want to see if this relationship is salvageable. Meet me at the NY penthouse at 7:00 tomorrow.

Rachel felt tears fall. Finn wanted to try and save them. She climbed on her bed and jumped up and down.

-I'll be there. I love you Finn.

-I love you too Rachel. No matter what, that hasn't changed.

The next day at work, the time seemed to drag on. All Rachel could think about was seeing Finn, but now that she stood at his front door, she was taken over by nerves. She wished she would have had time to go home and change but Blaine insisted she help him and by the time they finished she had just enough time to make it to Finns.

She swallowed her nerves and knocked lightly. She heard footsteps walking towards the door and then it opened. Finn stood there wearing slacks, his dress shirt was untucked and his tie loosened.

"Hi. Come in, please." He said, stepping back to allow Rachel to come in.

"You want a drink? I'm fixing to make on for myself." He said, and Rachel could tell he was nervous as well.

"Sure. Whatever you're having is fine." She said. She looked around and noticed there were boxes all around the apartment. She felt her heart sink. He was moving. He was going to drop this bomb on her and then leave. But that didn't make sense… why would he tell her he wanted to fix them and then move?

"Were you planning on telling me goodbye before you move?" Rachel asked, anger lacing her voice.

Finn looked at Rachel, he could see that the last few days she had been crying a lot. Her eyes were puffy, swollen and she looked weak.

"Rachel, listen—"

"No Finn. I will not let you run away from me…. From us." Rachel said. She stood up and ripped open a box to unpack it.

"I'll unpack every one of these myself, because you're NOT leaving." Finn didn't say a word as he watched Rachel reach inside of the first box.

"What the…" Rachel said as she held one of her throw blankets in her hand. She looked at Finn will a puzzled look before reaching into another box to find her books and DVD's.

"Finn, this is all my stuff. How did… When…I thought?" Rachel wasn't able to finish a complete sentence. She was so confused right now that she was speechless and that was a rarity with Rachel Berry.

He came walking up behind her, and she turned around, jumping into his embrace.

"Finn I was so scared that I had lost you. I am so sorry that I didn't tell you but I didn't want to upset you when I had it handled. What the creepy P.I. didn't get was me slapping Jesse and telling him to stay away from me. I don't know why they would leave that out, but—"

"Wait! You slapped him and they didn't photograph that? Don't you find that a little odd?" Finn said, interrupting Rachel.

"It doesn't make sense that they wouldn't take the photos of that. Whoever hired him wanted me to see the ones of him kissing you but nothing else. So that makes me think that the person who hired him was Jesse. I'm gonna kick that mother—"

"Finn! Calm down. If Jesse did this, which this sounds exactly like something he would do, the best way to get him back is to show him that his plan didn't work. To show him that he didn't break us up."

Finn stood there silent for a moment, then he smiled his half grin and Rachel knew something was going through that mind of his.

"Rach… how public are you willing to take this living together thing?" He asked with a smirk.

She knew exactly where he was going with this and she had to admit, it was a great idea.

"I want the whole world to know that you are a taken man. That this is no longer the 'bachelor pad of Finn Hudson, lady charmer'. What do you have in mind?"

"Well, there is this magazine that has been hounding me for a while to take photos of my house. Not this place, but where I took you for our date. What if we take whatever you don't need here and take it there. Then I can schedule the interview so we can both be there to take the photos and answer their questions. Once it's published, Jesse St. Jackass won't know what to do." Finn pulled Rachel towards him by her hips.

"I love the way you think. But you know what I would love more?" She asked, looking up with him with bashful eyes.

"What's that?" he asked.

"For you to kiss me. I have missed your ki—"

Before Rachel could finish her sentence his lips were on hers. He lifted her up with the greatest of ease, and her legs wrapped around his waist. He started to move towards the bedroom but Rachel broke their kiss long enough to say, "Couch." Finn didn't hesitate as the couch was much closer and he had missed Rachel so much he didn't think he could make it to the bedroom either.

They fell onto the couch and Rachel moved to be on top of him. She pulled at his tie and threw it across the room before working on the buttons on his shirt while his hands reached up and unzipped the back of her dress.

"God I missed you." Rachel breathed out while Finn's mouth assaulted her neck.

"I missed you too. Less talking, more stripping." Finn say with a deep voice and Rachel didn't argue.

They discarded their remaining clothes and took no time before they were both screaming out in pleasure. Somehow Finn had sat up and Rachel was straddling his lap, and she felt her head collapse onto his shoulder. She kissed the side of his neck softly as his hands ran up and down her back.

"I can't believe I almost lost the chance to do this. I can't imagine life without you in it." She said, not looking at him and simply enjoying the way it felt to be in his arms.

"I know. I feel the same way. But what is important is that we are here now, and we didn't let go of something so special. I never want to lose you Rachel. You're it for me. I know that now." Finn said, pulling her back to look him in the eyes. "I love you so much, and the thought of you being with someone else killed me. I know I should have listened to you when you said nothing was going on, but those photos felt like someone was stabbing me in the heart. I don't want any man kissing these lips." He said, tracing his finger across her bottom lip.

"I never want anyone else's lips on mine. I mean that. You 're the only man I ever want. I love you too. SO much. Thank you for not giving up on us."

"I'll never give up on us. We are endgame. You and me. And that will never change."

They lay there, snuggling on the couch with the blanket pulled over them for a while and Rachel finally broke the silence.

"Finn?"

"Yeah babe?"

"How did you get all of my things here when I know that nothing was packed last night. I mean the only time they could have been packed was today when…. Wait a minute! Are you the reason Blaine kept me at work late tonight?" She said, turning to face him and raising an eyebrow.

"He was only doing as he was told. I am his boss after all. And I needed to keep you from going home and finding your house full over overly priced movers. I wanted to surprise you. And the sooner your things were here, where they belong, the better."

Rachel couldn't even pretend to be upset. He was too adorable and she was happy that her things were here.

"So does this mean I officially live here?" She asked.

Finn jumped up off the couch, reaching down and slipping on his boxers before heading over to the kitchen counter, opening his briefcase. He pulled something out and walked over towards her.

"Welcome home." He said, handing her a small white box.

She opened the box and gasped. Inside was a key to the apartment and an engraved keychain. She held it up and read it out loud.

"Today begins our journey." And the date was inscribed below it.

"Oh my god Finn. This is beautiful. I love you so much." Rachel kissed him over and over and he smiled.

"I love you too. I love you too."


	13. Chapter 13

Cold As Ice - Chapter 13

The crew showed up at the house around 10:30 that morning and Rachel was nervous. Finn had hired a crew to come in and do Rachel's hair and make up, something that she had never experienced. But then again almost everything with Finn was a new experience. She had just stepped out in the first outfit for the shoot and walked into the living room. She gasped when she saw Finn. He was leaning against the fireplace mantle, his chin resting against his fist. He was wearing a dark pair of blue jeans with a beige sweater that came up high and had a few buttons down the breast. His hair was fixed messily and he was looking away from the camera and Rachel couldn't believe how sexy he looked. Sure, she had seen him in magazines before, but there was something about the fact that he was her boyfriend now that made him look ten times hotter.

Finn saw Rachel walk in the room and smiled. "Let's take 5." the photographer said, so they could set up for Rachel's photos and then the couple ones.

"You look beautiful." Finn told her, kissing her cheek.

"So do you. Well, handsome. I mean. I really like the pose they had you in. I wonder how hard it would be to get a copy of that for myself." She said with a smile.

"I'll have them give you whatever pictures you want. They will show them all to us at the end of the shoot." He smiled his half smile and Rachel's heart fluttered.

"Besides, we need some pictures of us to hang around the house. My mom always said family photos are what make a home."

Rachel felt like she was going to cry at his words and Finn didn't fail to notice.

"Hey, what's wrong? What did I say that upset you?" He asked, pulling her close by her hips.

"You called me your family." She said simply.

"Of course I did. When we decided to live together, to share a home and our lives, we became our own little family."

Rachel put her arms up around his neck and pulled him down to kiss her lips. "You're incredible, and I am so lucky to have you." She said, and she truly meant it.

"Ok, we are ready for you both. We will do your photos alone afterwards, Ms. Berry. We want to do your couples photos, then we will do some of the house. Once those are all completed, we will sit down so you can be interviewed." The photographer said.

The photoshoot felt like something out of a fairytale. One of the ones that Rachel loved the most was of the two of them sitting on the rug, in front of the fire. Finn was brushing a strand of hair away from Rachel's face, the smiles on their faces completely genuine. Rachel couldn't look away from Finn, he made her feel like the most special woman on the face of the earth. They hadn't been posing for that particular photo, but the photographer said she saw a moment and took it. Rachel was very glad she did, because that was the one that felt the most real. Real because they hadn't been posing, or smiling the way they were told. No, this was the two of them just being themselves...happy and in love.

"These photos look amazing. I'll get them all put onto a disc for you Mr. Hudson."

"Thank you. We are just going to go change into something more comfortable before the interview. We will be right back down." Finn said, taking Rachel by the hand and walking upstairs.

"I am so excited to get those photos babe. Can we print that one in black and white and hang it above the fireplace? Rachel asked as she pulled her sweater over her head and looked back at Finn. Her mouth going dry as she saw his muscular chest before he reached for a shirt. He had turned to face her, smiling and his abs on full display. It didn't matter than she had seen them dozens of times already, she still got insanely turned on at the sight of them. A few steps were taken and he was standing in front of her.

He headed over, his mouth only millimeters from her ear, she could feel his hot breath against her skin and she had chills run down her entire body. Anytime Finn got this close, into her personal space she felt as if she had no control. Her body reacted to him on its own.

"We can hang whatever you want, wherever you want. He said, almost in a whisper.

Finn leaned down, his lips ghosting across Rachel's and she felt his tongue brush against her bottom lip. Her mouth opened, eagerly wanting to feel his tongue against her own. A soft moan fell from her lips as he deepened the kiss as her hands tangled into his hair, he pulled her closer to him.

Rachel had to pull away to catch her breath, and she was incredibly turned on, her center throbbing with an ache for him.

"Finn." she said, trying to find the strength to speak. Finn making that almost impossible as he kissed and nibbled on the side her neck.

"Baby, we have to get back downstairs...th-there's peop-people downstairs..." She tried, but the little amount of self control she had was quickly deteriorating.

"I promise, I'll be quick and it will be worth it." He said, moving to the other side of her neck and his hands cupping her bra covered breasts.

Rachel couldn't even speak, instead she just nodded and that was all it took for Finn to pick her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Walked towards the wall, he pressed her back against it and they kissed one another with hungry passion.

Rachel reached down, her hand pushing into Finn's boxers and wrapping around his rock hard erection. She heard a low growl come from deep within his throat.

"God, you drive me crazy. I've never wanted anyone the way you make me want you. Never have I ever been so turned on by any other woman." Finn panted as she continued to stroke him.

The two parted quickly and Rachel discarded her bottom layers of clothing while Finn's boxers were kicked away, before she was hoisted up to her previous position.

"Finn..." Rachel breathed, ragged breaths escaping her while Finn's tongue grazed her neck and her head rolled back on her shoulders. She tried again, "Finn...now...I need you inside of me now!" She demanded in a forceful yet sexy tone and it only seemed to fuel Finn's desire for her.

That was all Finn needed to hear before he reached between than an ran the tip along her dripping center and pressed deep inside in one quick thrust.

"Oh yes! Yes! M-more!" she begged and Finn instantly complied. The pace grew quickly and Rachel's moans got louder and louder until Finn had to cover her mouth just before she came and her nails dug into his back. Finn continued to push in and out of her as her walls tightened around him. Seconds later he felt his body begin to shake as his own orgasm ripped through him.

Once Rachel's feet were back on the floor and they had stopped shaking, she looked up at Finn with a smile. "Damn you're so good at that. I had no idea what I had been missing before you."

Finn stepped forward, his smile spread from ear to ear and said, "Well, that makes two of us."

They quickly dressed and Rachel touched up her smeared make up before they went back downstairs. Rachel had to avoid looking anyone in the eyes. She swore they all knew that her boyfriend had just fucked her against a wall.

The reporter guided them towards the back patio and they took a seat on the couch and Rachel snuggled into Finn. The photographer took a photo when the pair wasn't paying attention.

R: Reporter  
FH: Finn Hudson  
RB: Rachel Berry

Reporter: "Let me begin by saying that it is an honor to be interviewing you today. I know that this is your first interview, Ms. Berry and the first interview done on a personal level for you Mr. Hudson. I am certain that this column will be quite the buzz. You both have such a lovely home might I add."

FH: Thank you. We are happy to be doing the interview. For some reason, people find my life interesting, and while I don't know why, I'm happy to answer your questions." Finn said with a laugh.

RB: "You're very interesting. You don't give yourself enough credit." Rachel said towards her boyfriend and then turned to the reporter. "I'm happy to be answering your questions as well. Although this is something I have never done before, it's been a lot of fun doing the photos. It's like something you see on television, and I never thought I would be doing anything close to this."

R: Ok, so let's get started. The media is dying to know as much about the two of you as possible. First question is for Mr. Hudson." The woman said, clicking her pen and getting ready to write down Finn's answer.

FH: Please, call me Finn. Mr. Hudson sounds really professional and with this being a personal interview, I'd be more comfortable is you called me by my first name." Finn smiled and Rachel didn't miss the way it made the woman interviewing them blush. Of course she would swoon over her boyfriend. He was hot, sweet and had a way with words.

R: "Ok, Finn. What made you decide to purchase a home outside of the city? You have a penthouse apartment downtown correct? Why not just live there?"

FH: "Well, living in the city is great. Convenient even. I mean I spend a great deal of my time working, and before Rachel came into my life, I worked more than I spent time at home. But, the house here is the one place I would come to get away from it all. The work, the hustle and constant go, go, go of the city gets to be a bit much after so long. Sometimes I liked to just get away, have some time to myself. It's really peaceful here and I love being near the water."

R: I can see why you love it here. It's very relaxing. Ms. Berry? Before moving here with Finn, you lived in an apartment with your friend from high school?"

RB: "Yes, my best friend, Santana Lopez. She would kill me if I didn't mention her in this interview, so I'm glad you asked." Rachel said with a laugh. Knowing Santana would in fact give her hell for not mentioning her in an interview that was certain to spread like wildfire through the media. "She's a really talented woman. She's perusing acting as her career and she is incredibly good at it. We had a small apartment, but it was plenty for the two of us."

R: "It's rumored that you are looking to make your career on Broadway. Is that true? Are you looking to perform in any one in particular?"

RB: "I have always been a fan of Barbara Streisand. I have sang her songs since I was a little girl. Broadway has always been the one dream in my life that never changed. I'm working at Hudson Enterprises right now, but I haven't given up my dream of making it on stage. Now, as far as picking one to perform in, I would hands down say the reproduction of Funny Girl. But with that being said, I wouldn't turn down the opportunity to do another musical. I am open to taking whatever job I can get. Broadway is Broadway, and anything would be nothing short of amazing."

R: "According to research, you were in a relationship not long ago with a man named Jesse St. James. The breakup wasn't a mutual decision?"

Rachel looked at Finn, unsure of answering this question and making him uncomfortable. She knew it was all for 'good reading' but still, making Finn upset was a deal breaker in her book.

RB: "Well, most breakups aren't mutual decisions are they? I mean my relationship with Jesse wasn't a healthy one. I'll leave it at that. I was the one that ended it, but I couldn't be happier that I did because if I hadn't, I wouldn't have Finn."

Finn squeezed Rachel's hand, winking so she knew that he wasn't upset with her answer.

R: "How did the two of you meet and inevitably end up together?" She asked, looking towards both Finn and Rachel.

Finn answered the question, telling the woman how he and Rachel met and he didn't stop smiling the entire time. He wasn't sure what all the woman wrote down, but he didn't really care. All he thought about was the way it felt the first time he laid eyes on his girlfriend.

R: "Ok, here's the question that everyone wants to know. Do you have plans to marry in the future?" The woman asked, and both Rachel and Finn went silent. Rachel knew how guarded Finn was, and although she knew what she would LIKE to say for an answer, she was terrified to answer it and have him flip out on her. So when Finn spoke up, Rachel's entire body went stiff.

FH: Rachel is amazing. I have never felt the kind of love that I feel for her. When we are apart, I find it hard to focus on anything other than her. Wondering what she is doing… If she is ok...If she is thinking of me the way I'm thinking of her. For me, this is all new territory. Every single day is a surprise with her. Just when I think that it's impossible to fall more in love with her, she does something and there I go.. falling all over again. I don't know what the future holds for me, but I know that Rachel is definitely in it. And when the time is right, I would be the luckiest man in the world if I were able to call her my wife."

Rachel was staring at him. Her eyes dripping tears down her cheeks that she didn't even know were there. Finn just admitted to what will be the entire world that he wants to marry her. Sure he said one day, but Rachel didn't care. All that mattered was he said he wanted her to be his wife. She ignored the fact that the woman was sitting only 5 feet away, and the room was full of random people taking photos and holding different things for lighting. She leaned over, her hands touching both sides of his face and leaned in to kiss him. When she pulled back, Finn smiled and whispered, 'I love you'. He wiped her tears away as she said, 'I love you too'.

The rest of the interview passed and finally Finn was shutting the door behind the last person from the crew. He leaned his back against the door and let out a deep breath. Rachel was pulling out several things from the refrigerator and getting ready to make a salad. She looked over and saw Finn and laughed.

"You ok babe?" She asked, starting to chop the lettuce.

He walked towards her and took a seat on the opposite side of the island on a bar stool. "You know that in a few days, that article is going to be on the news stand." He began and Rachel laughed, knowing exactly where this conversation was going.

"And the entire world will know you like to sleep with a night light...sorry about that baby." She said, unable to hide the fact that she found this hilarious.

"For the thousandth time, it is NOT a night light. It's simply a small light that puts off just enough soft glow for me to be able to see where I am walking and not run into a wall." Finn said, once again trying to defend his reasoning for the light.

"Ok, ok. Whatever you say honey."

Finn picked up a cucumber slice and threw it at Rachel.

"Hey, watch out. You were supposed to eat that, not use it as a weapon."

Finn leaned over towards Rachel and said, "I'll still eat it...and whatever else you would like for me to eat that's on your body."

Rachel raised an eyebrow and smiled. They spent the rest of the day lounging around the house and enjoying some quality time together. Finn had fallen asleep on the couch with a folder of paperwork across his lap. Rachel pulled the blanket off her lap and sat up next to him. She ran her fingers through his hair, and he stirred a little. His eyes fluttered open and he weakly smiled.

"Hey you..." he said softly.

"You ready to go to bed? Let's go to sleep. We can't sleep on this couch. Last time you had a back ache for days."

Finn sat up, placing the folder on top of the coffee table before standing, pulling Rachel up by her hand as well. Nothing else was said as they went into the room, stripping down to boxers before helping Rachel pull off her clothes as well, Finn leaned down to place a soft kiss on her lips. The paid climbed into bed and Rachel quickly turned into his embrace, as if she had been sleeping that way for years.

"Finn?" she said into the pitch black room.

"Hmm."

"Did you mean what you said to that reporter?" She asked nervously. A tiny part of her feared that he had said it to make Jesse jealous, or simply to make the article 'good reading'.

"Which part?" He asked, his eyes still closed, nuzzling his nose into her hair.

"Do you really see us getting married one day?"

Finn pulled his head back, and turned over to turn on the lamp. Rachel sat up nervous as ever by this point. He looked at her in the eyes and reached for her hand.

"Rachel, this…" He gestured between the two of them. "Is something I never expected to find. The way you make me feel is still something I'm getting used to, but it's something that I know I can't live without. I never used to believe in marriage. I mean, I was always happy for people when they got married, because that was what THEY wanted. I just never thought it was something for ME. That was until I met you. Until I fell in love with you and realized what they all were so crazy about. That connection you have with someone when you marry them is beyond amazing and yes, I want that with you. I look at my life like this giant really complicated puzzle. You know that ones that have like 90 percent blue sky, or grass that takes up more than half the puzzle. Those are so hard, especially the ones that have like—" Finn began to ramble and Rachel reached up, placing a finger over his lips.

"You're so cute when you ramble." She said and he smiled.

"What I meant was, my life is one of those really complicated puzzles and you when you find that last piece that makes it all complete, you step back and look at your finished product and are happy. You are that final puzzle piece that made everything come together. Without you, my puzzle wouldn't be complete. I love you more than anything, and I never want another first kiss, I only want you."

Rachel smiled, she felt like the luckiest woman in the world. Finn used to be so cold and closed off, and for the most part he still was that way. But not with her. With her he was opening up and showing him so many different sides of himself and she loved every single one.

They curled back up in each other's arms and Finn ran his fingers through her hair as she rested her head against his chest. It didn't take long and she was sound asleep. Finn lay there, looking down at the woman he couldn't love more than he did now and smiled. He knew he wanted to propose to Rachel even before they did the interview today, he had already purchased the ring. Now he was just waiting for the perfect moment and he had just the idea of when and what to do. He just needed a little help to pull it off because it had to be special. Special enough to be worth of his amazing girlfriend.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: This is it guys. The final chapter of this short story. I need to get back to my other Fic's as well as work on a few chapters of "What If" to wrap it up. I hope you enjoyed the ride, and who knows… maybe another Finchel Fic will pop up soon.

Cold As Ice – Chapter 14

"Finn, where do you want me to put these candles?" Rachel asked as she unpacked one of her boxes.

"Babe, I already told you. Several times if I recall, to put your things anywhere you want." He said as he walked towards her and put his hands on her hips. "I want you to make yourself at home and that means I want you to put whatever you want, wherever you want it. When someone walks into the house, I want them to think that we moved in here together. Okay?" Finn said, leaning over and kissing her head.

"Ok. Are you going somewhere?" She asked when she took in Finn's appearance. He was dressed in a pair of gym shorts, a sleeveless shirt and tennis shoes.

"I was going to go to the gym. Get a work out in, and then we can go shopping to get something to wear for the photoshoot and interview. They will be here tomorrow morning at 10:30 sharp. The photography crew will come first to set up the equipment and then Diane McAllister, the lady doing the interview, will be here afterwards." Finn said, reaching for a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

"How long do we get to stay here at the house?" Rachel asked. The couple had loaded up over half of Rachel's belongings and drove to Finn's beach house the previous night in order to get her unpacked before they did their interview with Life and Style magazine. They had been after Finn for some time to do an in home interview, and usually Finn was a private person. He would have shot this deal down without thinking twice, but after Jesse's stunt, he was eager to have this magazine hit the racks just so he can know that Jesse St. James would understand that he didn't win. No, instead of breaking up, he and Rachel were stronger than ever. So in a way it was like Jesse did them a favor.

"Ok, well while you're gone, I am going to finish unpacking and maybe sneak in some yoga." Rachel said before stepping up on her tip toes and kissing his lips. "Have a good work out babe."

Finn smiled and picked up his gym bag. "See you in a couple hours sexy. Have fun." And then Finn was gone. Rachel looked around the massive house. She couldn't believe that this was her home. The home she shared with THE Finn Hudson. It all still felt like a dream. But it was a dream that she hoped she would never wake from.

Rachel put away several items and hung her clothes in the close next to Finn's. His closet was insane and she couldn't wait to show Santana. It was the size of an entire dressing room at Macy's. And Finn had impeccable taste. His shirts and suits were flawless. She saw a box on the floor, and it didn't blend in with everything else, it pretty much stuck out like a sore thumb. She pulled it out and opened it. Inside the box was a letterman jacket, a football with a bunch of signatures and numbers on it, and a gray hoodie that said 'PROPERTY OF MCKINNLEY TITANS #5'. Rachel smiled, she knew this was from when Finn was in high school. She placed all the items back in the box except for the hoodie. She slipped it on, it practically swallowing her, but she still loved the way it felt.

The doorbell rang and Rachel went to answer it. She pulled it open and there stood the woman that had cooked she and Finn dinner on their first real date. "Hola, senora. I come to clean house. Is Senior Hudson in?" She asked.

"Oh, uh no he just left to go to the gym. But you can come in. I was just unpacking, but I'm pretty much finished for the day." Rachel stepped back and the woman came in.

"Ok, I start in the kitchen. I take the empty boxes to trash for you, no problem." She said with a smile and Rachel smiled back. She felt bad having someone come in and clean up after her, it was something she definitely wasn't used to. She felt like she should be the one doing the cooking and cleaning for Finn. It was the least she could do considering the fact that Finn paid all the bills and wouldn't accept a penny from her towards any bill.

"Thank you. I'm just going to be in the den doing yoga. If you need any help with anything just let me know." Rachel said and the housekeeper looked at her blankly. She wasn't sure why the lady would offer to help her clean, but it was rather nice just that she offered. "Si, Senora. Enjoy your joga."

"It's Yo… never mind." Rachel said with a laugh before heading into the den to begin stretching.

She was bent over, her hands flat on the floor, her butt up in the air and her legs slightly spread apart as she held one of the positions when Finn leaned against the doorway. He was silent as he admired the view. Rachel stood up, reaching above her head as she turned around and jumped at the sight of Finn standing there.

"Jesus Christ! You scared me." Rachel said, holding her hand over her heart.

"I'm sorry, I was trying to be quiet and not interrupt." He said with a raised eyebrow and a wink.

"Oh you weren't trying to interrupt, or you were busy looking at my ass?" Rachel asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"A little of both. But hey, can you blame me?" Finn stepped towards Rachel, pulling her towards him. "You have the nicest ass I have ever seen." He said with his cocky grin and Rachel shook her head, rolling her eyes.

"You're horrible. How was the gym?" She asked.

"It was good. Next time I am leaving my phone. I swear even on my days off someone just HAS to get ahold of me for some reason or another. Its insane." Finn said, placing a kiss on Rachel's head before turning to walk out of the room. "I'm going to shower and change. Then I will help you unpack the rest of your things. We seriously have to get everything out of boxes. It's been too long." He said with a laugh.

"Did you want to join me in there?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"Your housekeeper is here. We have done the whole 'sex with people in the house' fiasco already and it was very embarrassing for me. So nope. You go right ahead and shower, I'll take one in the guest room."

Finn pretended to pout and walked off to shower. Rachel laughed at his cuteness before walking into their bedroom to gather some clothes for her shower when she heard the doorbell ring. She started to go answer it, but remembered that the housekeeper was here. It was something she was definitely not used to and she wanted to talk to Finn about it. She didn't see the point of having someone come in to clean and cook for them when she was perfectly capable of taking care of those things.

"Senora Rachel. Senior Finn. There is a package for you." The woman called up the stairs. Rachel knew Finn didn't hear her since she could hear the water running so she decided to go down and see what had come.

"Thank you." Rachel told her as she accepted the large envelope. It was addressed to both she and Finn so she opened it and smiled. The magazine in her hand held the entire interview they had done, and on the front cover there was a photo of she and Finn. It was one of her favorite photos from the shoot and she loved the way it looked on the cover. She never dreamed she would be on the cover of a magazine, nor be dating someone like Finn Hudson, but she couldn't imagine it being any other way now. Next to their photo were several things written.

-10 Ways to Make your man want you again

-The best Vegetarian recipes on the market

-Yoga: The revolution

And the she saw the preview of her and Finn's interview.

-New York Bachelor Finn Hudson is off the market. How finding love and true happiness is changing his life.

Rachel smiled. She knew that it was true. Finn was now a totally different person than he had been when she first met him. Sure he still had his moments when he pulled away, or seemed to keep thick walls up, but for the most part where Rachel was concerned, he let her in. Sometimes she had to work at it to get him to open up, show him he could trust her, but he did. And that was something Rachel would never take for granted or let him regret.

She opened the magazine and skimmed over the article. The photos were amazing and the way it was written made Rachel feel like she was someone important. She put the magazine on the coffee table and walked back upstairs to shower. When she returned back downstairs afterwards, Finn was sitting on the couch, the magazine in hand. He had a smile on his face and Rachel just sat back and watched him. He was so amazing and she didn't know how she had gotten so lucky, but she was grateful none the less.

"Hey you." She said, walking over and sitting next to her boyfriend, instantly snuggling into him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Hey yourself. Did you read this yet?" He asked.

"Somewhat. I skimmed over it. From what I saw, I loved it. We make such a great couple. Look at those photos. Damn your hot. Especially in this one." She pointed towards the photo of Finn by the fireplace. "Mmm, mmm, mmm." She hummed and Finn blushed.

"Well you look really damn good yourself. Oh hey, Santana called while you were showering. She and Puck were going to come by. I asked them if they wanted to grill something for dinner and maybe hang out. It's been a while since we spent time with them. But if you aren't feeling up to it I can call and reschedule."

"That sounds great babe. I miss Santana. We have been roommates for as long as I can remember. I know she is happy with Puck and I'm insanely happy being here with you, but I still miss our girl time. Ya know?"

"I know. And anytime you two want to spend some girl time alone, just say the word. Puck and I can make ourselves scarce and let you two do whatever it is that girls do when they hang out."

Rachel laughed, "We talk about you and Puck. Drink wine. Do each others hair or nails and then talk about you and Puck some more. If you must know." She batted her eyes with a smile and Finn found it incredibly adorable.

Later that Afternoon-

Puck and Finn stood by the grill, flipping some steaks while Rachel and Santana sat on the patio, margaritas in hand.

"This place is so beautiful. I am so envious of you and your new life." Santana said to her friend. "It's like a real life Cinderella story."

"I know, sometimes I am waiting to wake up from this incredible dream. I can't believe that he chose me." Rachel said. "I mean he could have any girl he wanted. Look at him. Gorgeous, funny, accomplished, and one of the sweetest souls you will ever meet. I know that I am lucky and I won't ever take that for granted."

"So, things are pretty serious for you guys. I read the magazine article, and I saw the part about him wanting to marry you someday. How did that make you feel?" She asked Rachel.

"Honestly, I cried. Yeah, more like bawled right there in front of the reporter. I never in a million years thought that Finn would be the type that wanted to get married. For some reason he struck me as the type that would live together until the day we die, but never actually make it legally binding. And I was going to accept that because I just wanted him. So when he said that about wanting to spend his life with me I felt like yet again he was making me fall crazy in love with him."

"So what are you going to say when he asks you?" Santana pressed on.

"If. IF he asks me, there is no way I can say no. I love him too much and the thought of being his wife… being Mrs. Finn Hudson makes my heart race. He's it for me San. He's the love of my life. He's the first man to really make me feel loved..special. When it's just he and I, he shows me sides of him that nobody else gets to see. And those are sides that I end up loving the most."

"You've got it bad. You're a Finn Hudson addict." Santana said with a laugh before taking a sip from her margarita.

"Oh yeah. I totally am. But hey, look who's talking. You and Puck seem to be going strong. How is living together going for yall?" Rachel asked.

"It's definitely different then when you and I lived together. The whole forgetting to put the toilet seat down, or the way his feet smell after he works all day are on the top of my list for most hated things about sharing an apartment with a man, but the list for things I love about it is so much longer. He's so good to me Rach. I didn't see myself as the type to do this.. the whole commitment thing. But Puck makes me want so many things I never knew I wanted."

Rachel smiled, and reached over to squeeze her best friends hand. She was so happy for her and she knew that Puck was the one. He was the reason her friend wore such a huge smile so much now and for that she was thankful.

"Hey babe, are you ladies ready to eat?" Finn said as he and Puck approached them, a plate of grilled steaks and a few veggie kabobs in hand.

"Oh yeah. That looks and smells so good, I'm starving." Rachel said, standing up and looking down at Santana. "You ready to eat?" She asked.

"We'll be right in." Santana said, pulling Puck to sit next to her. Rachel and Finn both shook their heads. They knew that the second they were inside the house their two friends would have a make out session that neither of them wanted to witness.

"You know they are feeling each other up out there as we speak." Rachel said, pulling out the salad she had prepared earlier from the refrigerator. Finn walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"Well, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea. I could use a little 'feeling up' myself. And these shorts have been making my mind race all day." He said, his hand reaching down to cup her butt. Rachel turned into his embrace and their lips met, the passion quickly igniting.

They broke apart just in time as Santana and Puck came strolling in, holding hands. "Let's eat!" he said and Santana rolled her eyes.

Finn shut the door behind their friends and went in search of Rachel who was picking up the margarita glasses and beer bottles that were spread across the table on the patio. Finn watched her with the light from the candles on the table flickering against her skin. He could feel something way down deep inside of him. Like it was coming from somewhere he couldn't explain. He knew that this was it. The time. He ran upstairs and pulled open the drawer, grabbing what he needed before running down the stairs two at a time. When he returned to the patio Rachel was wiping the table down.

"Hey." Finn said, Rachel stopped to look up at her boyfriend. Something about him seemed off. He looked… nervous?

"Everything ok? Puck and Santana get off ok?" She asked.

"Yeah. Hey, uh.. do you want to join me for a walk on the beach?" He asked, his heart racing already as he tried desperately to calm it down.

"I'm still cleaning up this mess, I just need—"

"Leave it babe. We can clean this up in a bit. The moon is shining over the water and it looks really beautiful. Come on." He reached out his hand, waiting for her to take it, which she quickly did.

They walked along the water in silence, the sounds of the waves breaking filling the air. Just as Finn said, the moon shined brightly. They came to a stop and Finn stood behind her, arms holding her tight as they stared out over the water.

"It's so beautiful. I'm glad we came for this walk." Rachel said, leaning her head back against his chest.

"The moon is beautiful, but you are far more beautiful than anything in this world. I have something I want to say Rach." Finn said, swallowing nervously. Finn was able to talk to crowds, reporters, conference room filled with hundreds of people and never batted an eye. But right now, in front of only one person he felt like he was 7 years old standing in front of a crowd in his Spiderman underwear.

"Ok, what about?" Rachel asked, turning to face him.

This was it Finn thought. This was his moment and he had to take it.

He swallowed hard and took a deep breath, looking right into Rachel's eyes. When their eyes met, he felt the connection pull him in.

"Rachel, you came into my life when I thought that I was meant to be alone. I had accepted it. Learned to turn being single into motivation to make my company be the best it could be. Nothing else mattered to me besides my work. But after only meeting you once, I was drawn to you. I couldn't stay away from you no matter how hard I tried. My heart knew I was in love with you, and it didn't take long for my mind to catch up. You make me want to be a better man… to open up and let myself feel things. The things you make me feel are incredibly amazing. I used to think that making it, that my business taking off the way it has was my greatest accomplishment in this life.. but now…. Now I know that I was so wrong. Loving you and somehow getting you to love me back is by far my greatest accomplishment. Because even if the company crashed, if I didn't have designer clothes, or a house by the beach as long as I had you I would still be the richest man in the world. And I promise you that if you let me continue to love you, I will spend every day of the rest of my life showing you how incredibly special you are." Finn reached into his pocket pulling out the ring as he knelt down on one knee.

"Oh my God." Rachel breathed out, her hands covering her mouth as she realized what Finn was doing. "Finn." She said, tears falling down her face already.

"Rachel, will you please make me the happiest man in the world and let me spend every day of our future loving you the way you deserve to be loved? Will you marry me?" Finn was shaking by this point. He thought his heart was going to beat clear out of his chest as he waited for her answer.

Rachel nodded, unable to form words. She finally forced out a 'yes' before Finn jumped up, scooping her into his arms and spinning her around kissing her. He put her down, and looked down into her eyes.

"Yes?" He asked, wanting to hear it again.

"Yes Finn. Yes, I will marry you." She said and Finn's smiled beamed brighter than the moon as he slid the ring onto her finger.

"I love you so much baby. So, so much. I cannot wait to make you my wife." He said and he truly meant it. More than he had ever meant anything.

"I love you too." Rachel said before looking down at the ring on her finger. She wanted to call everyone she knew, go to Time Square and scream at the top of her lungs that she was going to be Mrs. Hudson, but that could wait. Right now she wanted to make love to her future husband and show him exactly how much she loved him.

"I want to go celebrate our engagement…. In our bed." Rachel said with flirty eyes.

"Lead the way."

Finn smiled as Rachel pulled him towards the house and towards the first night of being an engaged couple. Life was turning out exactly as it should and although at one time Finn thought that he would never be able to pick up the pieces after his step fathers accident and move on with his life, he knew now that all he needed was Rachel to help sweep him up. She was the glue that held him back together. This was exactly how his life was meant to turn out. It may have been a long and painful road to get here, but if it meant that he would end up with Rachel, then he would do it all over again.


End file.
